NINJAGO
by SenseiKiwiAndLloydGarmy
Summary: *AU* After retiring from his service as a spy, Garmadon is dragged back into its world when Misako steps in to kidnap his son. Being out of practice and shape, Garmadon has no choice but to turn to his brother, the leader of the National Intelligence Network for Justice Against Grievous Offenders, for help. But can a few rookie agents stop Misako from creating the ultimate weapon?
1. Broken Pretense

**Hello everyone! Kiwi here. I didn't think TombRaiderNinja and I would be back so soon with another story, but I'm really glad we are. This is going to follow the same update schedule that Neverender did, so every Friday evening. If any scheduling conflicts occur, I'll PM readers to tell them. So please enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter One: Broken Pretense

Garmadon leaned back against the wall, peeking through the long black curtains covering the window. His brother had called not too long ago, warning him, stating that Garmadon's ex-wife was planning on regaining custody of her son. Misako had never liked playing by the rules. There was only one thing she could have meant by 'regaining custody'.

"Dad?" Young, ten year old Lloyd stepped out of his room, the tender light of his lamp spilling out into the hall. The boy rubbed his green eyes, a yawn widening his mouth briefly.

"Yes, Lloyd?" Garmadon's voice was no more than a whisper. There was still no sign of Misako, but that meant nothing. She had always been good at sticking to the shadows.

The boy walked up to his father, the ends of his pajama pants dragging on the wooden floor. Garmadon looked down at his son, ruffling his blonde hair. "I couldn't sleep."

"Dad can't sleep either," Garmadon replied, peeking out the window once again. His hand drifted from Lloyd's head down to his shoulder. _I won't let her take you.  
_  
Just as he made the silent promise in his mind, the crackle of tires against the stony ground reached Garmadon's ears. Fingers tensing around the shoulder of his child, the man risked one last peek.

A black car sat in front of the house, windows tinted, making it impossible to tell how many people were inside. Maybe Misako had come alone, planning to use her slick tongue to charm Garmadon into giving up their child. Or maybe she'd brought an army, knowing that Garmadon's skills weren't what they used to be.

"I have an idea," Garmadon whispered, his throat tightening. "Why don't we play hide and seek?"

The fear in Lloyd's eyes was growing more apparent, even in the darkness that blanketed the house. His dad hadn't asked him about hide and seek for a couple of years. He took a few steps backwards, his heart beating faster. "Dad. . . what's going on?" Lloyd's voice lowered as the sound of car doors slamming rang from outside.

"Just, find somewhere to hide yourself and I'll tell you later." Garmadon let the curtains fall back into place, slowly realizing that he was running out of time. She was right there, outside of his house, wasting no time. He silently cursed himself for spending years lying to himself. Garmadon had thought he was safe, thought _Lloyd_ was safe, from Misako's hands. It had all been an awful illusion.

Footsteps broke the man's train of thought and his right hand immediately reached down towards his belt, where he used to keep his firearm out in the field. Of course, it wasn't there anymore. Garmadon hadn't had any need for a weapon in years. Not since he'd distanced himself from what he used to be. But the past didn't care if he was prepared or not. It was pounding on his front door. "Lloyd, go find somewhere to hide, now!"

"Why can't you just tell me what's happening?" Lloyd argued, his voice shaking as it barely left his lips. The beating on the door mimicked the rhythm of his heart. In the back of the boy's mind, a voice was telling him to listen to his father, to go and hide himself away. On the other hand. . . he was awfully curious about what exactly was going on.

Garmadon could feel his patience wearing thin. "Go. Hide. Now!" he snapped, moving away from the wall to give his son a forceful nudge in the direction of the living room. "I promise you that I'll explain everything once I know you're safe." He watched Lloyd give a reluctant nod before being swallowed up in the blackness of the house.

The unrelenting knocking on the door stopped, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Garmadon inhaled deeply, collecting himself. He'd been in worse situations before, but not when there was something more precious than his own life on the line. Inching forward slowly, his steps making no noise on the hardwood floor, Garmadon approached the front door. Maybe Misako hadn't seen him looking through the window. Maybe she thought she had the wrong house and decided to leave.

 _BANG!_

Garmadon tensed up, recognizing the all too familiar sound of a gunshot. He glanced over his shoulder, hoping that Lloyd had decided to stay wherever he was. Thankfully, he couldn't see any sign of his son. So far, so good. The door swung open with great force, smacking the wall. Garmadon could see the stain of gunpowder stippled around the lock and doorknob before his eyes drifted towards the barrel of a gun, trained on his chest.

Misako smiled sweetly, both hands clasped firmly around the weapon in her hand. "Hello, honey," she said, her voice sending a chill down Garmadon's spine. "How've you been? How's Lloyd doing?"

"Misako. . ." Garmadon muttered through gritted teeth. She looked beautiful, wearing her greying hair in a long braid that reached down to her waist. Her full lips were coated in red lipstick, just as they always had been. For a brief moment, Garmadon's heart beat with longing. For the past. For what had once been. Then he thought of Lloyd, hiding away somewhere in the house, and his heart hardened. "You have no place here. I suggest you leave at once."

"But I've only just got here," Misako said, stepping closer to Garmadon's body. "It's a little impolite to turn away guest, don't you think? All I want is to see Lloyd. Is that so much to ask?"

"You won't go near him," Garmadon's eyes flicked around the room, trying to find something that might help him. When they found nothing, he turned his eyes back to Misako. "We promised we'd keep him away from. . . from this life. _Your_ life. He deserves a normal childhood, Misako."

"Oh, this is _my_ life?" Misako twirled her long braid with one hand while the other held the weapon in place. "Don't forget, Garmadon, you're the one that introduced me into this world. You're no better than me."

"Besides. . . Don't you miss us? Don't you wish things would go back to the way they were before?" The woman lowered her hand slowly, heels clicking against the floor as she took the last steps separating her from Garmadon. "You can't tell me you've forgotten all about it. You can't honestly say you don't still wish for things to return to the way they were."

"I. . ." Garmadon closed his eyes. He did. He wished to reunite as a family more than anything. But he shook his head. He knew Misako would never change. Lloyd was who he should focus on now. And doing so meant he had to keep Misako away at all costs. "I do miss you. But Lloyd is my son. I won't give up his safety for anything."

After his last words, Garmadon grabbed hold of Misako's wrist, turning the gun away from himself before slipping it out of her fingertips. Misako growled, digging her sharp nails into Garmadon's skin. The pain caused the man's hand to snap open, thus dropping the gun with a reverberating _thud_. Reeling his mind back into focus, Garmadon kicked the gun away from Misako's reach, watching it slip under the couch with a smirk of satisfaction.

Her eyes narrowed as she aimed a kick towards Garmadon's abdomen. The man jumped back, finally relinquishing his hold on his old flame. Misako's foot missed its target by a long shot, but she just as soon planted it back on the ground and used the momentum to bring her other foot around. She was quick, agile. She always had been. And Garmadon was out of practice. Her other foot made contact with Garmadon's forearm as he struggled to block it. The entirety of his arm shuddered against the force, but Garmadon composed himself enough to grab Misako's leg with his free hand and twist it.

Misako gritted her teeth in pain as she pulled herself free from Garmadon's grasp. "Lloyd is _my_ son too," she breathed. "He'll be safe with me. Why can't you see that?" Her eyes drifted back to where the gun had disappeared. Trying to recover it now would be a waste of time. Despite Garmadon leaving his old life behind, he still retained a lot of his basic training and reflexes. It impressed her. "I'll take better care of him, Garmadon. I won't shelter him from the truth like you are. You know how much potential he holds. Lloyd will be-"

"My son will _not_ be used as a weapon!" Garmadon's breathing was ragged with anger. His hand had grabbed the collar of Misako's black fitted shirt, the material bunching up as his fingers tightened. "He didn't get to choose his parents, but I'm going to let him choose his path in life." Shaking, Garmadon released Misako and watched as her eyes widened. He was letting his emotions get the best of him. If he was in the field right now, he'd have been killed already. Desperation was a mask that Garmadon didn't wear well.

 _Crash!_

"Well, I hope they aren't making too much of a mess," Misako said, crossing her arms over her chest.

He froze, the bangs of his greying hair beginning to plaster themselves to his forehead with sweat. "They?" Garmadon asked.

"You don't think I came _alone_ , do you?"

Garmadon's stomach flipped and he ignored Misako, dashing instead towards the back of the house. "Lloyd!" His voice dripped heavily with concern as he pushed his shoulder against the door to his son's room and entered.

Lloyd had his back up against the wall on the opposite side of the room, his skin pale in the moonlight that flooded through the open window. A woman stood near the window, her bright green hair pulled up in a high ponytail. Garmadon narrowed his eyes and lunged towards Lloyd, throwing his body in front of his son, protecting him. "Dad. . ." the young boy breathed, his voice barely a squeak.

"I told you to hide yourself," Garmadon said, tone stern.

The woman smirked, grabbing two little pouches off of her grey pants and throwing them towards the ground. The air erupted in a sickening green smoke. Garmadon panicked, grabbing Lloyd from behind him and rushing out of the room. Heart beating faster than ever, he threw open the door to the bathroom, pushing Lloyd in first before slamming the door shut behind them. The lock clicked, leaving only silence in its wake. "Are. . . are you okay, Lloyd?"

Lloyd smiled. Garmadon frowned. The boy before him didn't look like his son. Something was. . . off. There was an evil spark in those green eyes that didn't belong to a boy his age. As Garmadon noticed this, more and more things began to change. The boy's body grew taller, hair longer, changing, changing, until a woman with thick purple hair stood before him.

"You _are_ getting old, Garmadon," the woman smirked triumphantly. "You might have spotted the difference sooner if you'd kept your skills sharpened."

Garmadon shook his head vigorously. This couldn't be. If Lloyd wasn't here, then-

" _Dad!_ "

Garmadon wheeled around, but the world surrounding him became a blur. His limbs began to grow limp, the room spinning and spinning until it was nothing more than a mesh of colors.

"Thanks for breathing in most of Tox's poison. You made my job a whole lot easier."

 _No, no, no, no_. Garmadon tried to reach the door, but his body wouldn't respond. He crumpled onto the cold marble floor, darkness swimming in and out of his vision until it was all he could see.

* * *

Lloyd closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing. He could hear footsteps heading towards his room. He allowed himself to smile slightly. They'd expected him to act like a silly little kid, running to hide under his own bed or closet. But no. Lloyd knew better than that.

He had cramped his body inside the dishwasher, a place he'd loved to hide in when he was younger. Now, his body didn't fit as comfortably as before, but that was the least of his concerns. Lloyd didn't understand what was happening, but the fear in his father's eyes had been enough to spring him into action.

 _BANG!_

Lloyd jumped, hitting his head on the top of the dishwasher. That sound had been _loud_. Lloyd had never heard a gunshot before, but he was sure that must have been it. Maybe his dad needed help. . .

No. His father had ordered him to hide. Whoever was out there would expect Lloyd to come running out, but, once again, the boy knew better.

For a while, there was nothing but silence. Lloyd could hear a couple of voices here and there, but nothing loud enough for him to understand. Then once again there were footsteps. They faded away into his room, and the young boy allowed himself to relax. He didn't think there was anyone left in the living room. Maybe he should-

The door to the dishwasher creaked open, and a tall grey haired woman looked down at him. Her smile was sweet, sickeningly sweet, and her green eyes glowed the same shade as Lloyd's. "Hello, sweetie. You're a smart one, aren't you? I would never have guessed to check in here if it hadn't been for the sound of your breathing."

Lloyd didn't move. His eyes scanned the darkness behind the woman. Where was his dad?

"You have so much potential," Misako continued, forcing Lloyd to come out of his hiding place. "Oh, you'll be the best there ever was. . . or ever will be."

The woman began to drag him forward, heading towards the front door of the house. Lloyd squirmed, making himself as heavy as possible, grabbing onto anything and everything.

" _Dad!_ "

"Be quiet! We don't want your father knowing you're leaving," Misako hissed. "You don't need him anymore, Lloyd. Mommy's here now."

"I don't want to go," Lloyd whimpered, trying to push the woman's fingers off his wrist. "I don't want to."

"I'm afraid you have no choice, baby." Misako threw the door open, tugging Lloyd towards the car. "Mommy knows what's best. So you have to come with me now."

"No!" Lloyd growled, swinging his leg back and kicking the woman's shin. She doubled over, loosening her grasp just enough for Lloyd to escape. Grinning with pride, the boy ran back into the house, searching for his father.

"Lloyd?"

The young boy turned, and there, in the darkness of the room, stood his father. His arms were wide open. Lloyd ran forward, welcoming the tight hug as his father lifted him off the ground. Lloyd closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax. He could feel his father walking, no doubt planning to lock down the door.

A soft breeze played with Lloyd's blonde hair. The young boy frowned. Why would his father go outside? That's exactly where the crazy woman was!

Lloyd straightened up, opening him mouth to protest. Shock and fear froze the words in his throat. The person holding him was _not_ his father. It was a purple haired woman, and she held Lloyd in a grip too tight to break. Soon enough, the young boy was forced into the black car. As the shock began to wear off, a small whimper escaped his lips.

"Oh no," Misako sat beside her son, stroking his hair with her thin delicate hands. "Don't cry, little Lloyd. Everything will be much better for you now. . ."

* * *

Garmadon groaned, his head pounding as he slowly sat up. Sunlight struggled to break through the closed blinds on the window as the memories of the previous night quickly returned. "Lloyd. . ." Unsteadily getting to his feet, Garmadon opened the already cracked door and stumbled into the hallway, a sudden rush of adrenaline combating the effects of the poison. He was completely alert now, moving quickly and silently, listening for any footsteps.

The emptiness of Lloyd's room made Garmadon's heart ache. He knelt beside the bed and peeked underneath before turning towards the closet and throwing the door open. No sign of Lloyd anywhere.

Garmadon ran a hand through his hair as he made his way out to the rest of the house. That was when something out of the ordinary caught his eye. The dishwasher was open and Garmadon felt his eyes widen. Of course! Lloyd used to hide himself away in the dishwasher whenever he was feeling a little mischievous. A small smile came to Garmadon's lips. His son was smart, but it obviously hadn't been enough to trick Misako and her accomplices. Cold spread through the man's body as the truth finally settled down upon him.

Lloyd was gone.

This was all his fault. Maybe if he had just embraced what he was instead of turning his back on it, he could have trained Lloyd a little. Garmadon sighed. Would it have been so wrong to teach Lloyd how to defend himself? And now, regardless of all the precautions Garmadon had taken, Lloyd had been pulled into his world. He had no excuses now. Garmadon needed help and there was only one person he could think of that would be willing and able to.

Darting into his own room, Garmadon pressed his hand against the dark wood of his dresser. Something clicked and a panel along the side of the furniture popped open, revealing a sleek grey object inside. Garmadon took the phone out of its hiding place and flipped it open, hitting the single red button that lay where the keypad would be. A dial tone started immediately and Garmadon held the phone up to his ear.

"Garmadon?"

"Hello, brother," Garmadon spoke slowly, pacing around the foot of his bed.

Wu cleared his throat before speaking. "Is everything okay? Did-"

"Misako took Lloyd," Garmadon spat, interrupting his brother. "You know I wouldn't have called if I didn't need your help. I tried to protect him when she came and. . . I couldn't." He paused for a moment, still coming to terms with what had happened. "Wu, please. I can't do this by myself."

There was silence from the other end. "It must pain you to admit that you can't work alone," Wu said.

A smirk crept up upon Garmadon's lips. "Oh, it does," he laughed.

"Don't worry, brother. We're going to get Lloyd back."


	2. Fresh Blood

Chapter Two: Fresh Blood

Jay pushed the bronze key inside the lock on his apartment door, pressing the weight of his body against the wood in order to jolt it open. Feet throbbing after a long day at SonicSubs, all the auburn haired man wanted to do was collapse in bed. But he'd promised himself he would try out his invention tonight. Work out the kinks. Finish the prototype.

The thought of everything he'd promised himself to do overwhelmed him, and he waved it away. Maybe tomorrow. His eyelids felt heavy, and the last thing Jay wanted to do was use his brain. It wasn't in working condition anyway. The only thing his brain could think of was an endless loop of the annoying welcome he had to utter each time a customer entered the restaurant.

 _Hi! Welcome to SonicSubs, how may I help you today?  
_  
And, of course, a smile was required. But when Jay smiled, he wasn't thinking about satisfying the customer. He wasn't thinking about the restaurant's motto (Service fast as lightning!) and he definitely wasn't thinking about being the employee of the month. No. All Jay could think about in order to tug a smile on his lips was the future. _His_ future.

World famous inventor, every one of his creations shipped throughout the world. Jay smirked, plopping onto the couch. His eyes shuddered to a close, and beneath his eyelids, the young man's daydream became real.

"It wasn't always easy, of course." Jay smiled, winking at the camera before him. He was being interviewed, and the girls in the audience went crazy when he did so. "But humble beginnings give you the strength to keep going. There were plenty of times I wanted to give up. But I always picked myself up. The trick to being as successful as me. . ."

Jay paused, gifting the audience with a flirty smile. " Is being-"

 _Thud! Thud! Thud!  
_  
A violent knock on his apartment door jolted Jay awake. His body, now unbalanced, toppled over the side of the couch. Shaking his head, the blue-eyed man stumbled towards the door, rubbing the now aching side of his head.

 _Thud! Thud! Thud!  
_  
"Give me a break, it's the middle of the night. . ." Jay growled, struggling to unlock the door. As soon as it creaked open, Jay's mouth continued to babble. "Look, buddy, I don't know what you could possibly want with-"

The doorway was empty.

Cautiously, Jay leaned out the door, looking left and right. Both sides of the hall were deserted. The young man rolled his eyes, shrugging. Before stepping back inside, a small business car resting against the dark ground caught his eye. Jay bent down to pick it up, his curiosity throbbing.

"Cole Brookstone: Nature Guide and Rock Climber," he read, one eyebrow raised in amusement. "Become one with nature. Test your limits. Conquer the mountain."  
Jay turned the small card over, where a number had been printed. "Call to make an appointment."

Shaking his head, he slipped the card into his back pocket. Rock climbing? Nature guide? Jay almost chuckled. The thought of it was ridiculous. Why would someone leave such a thing for him to find? He wasn't exactly the athletic type. As he lay back on the couch, Jay tried to shrug the strange happenstance away. But even as he slept, his curiosity blossomed.

As soon as the first rays of sunlight peeked through his curtains, Jay dialed the number.

* * *

Sweat dripped down his forehead, but he couldn't wipe it away. His hands were busy with something else. With great determination, he tightened the bolt above him before loosening his grip on the wrench in his right hand. "Finally done," the man sighed, feeling a great deal of pressure lift off of his shoulders. The repairs on the car had been a real challenge, but at least they were done now. The customer would be happy to see that the job was finished before he came, for once.

 _Psssssssh!  
_  
The sound scared him and he jolted upwards, hitting his head on the underside of the car. Groaning, he felt himself being dragged by his feet. Fluorescent lights blinded him until a silhouette loomed over him, quickly coming into focus. "What did you do _now_?" a tired voice asked, studying him carefully. It didn't take long before the sighing started. "Leaking oil? Kai..."

"It's not suppose to be leaking oil," Kai growled, sitting up and rubbing his forehead with the back of his right hand. "I had fixed it. Everything was fine. I was finally done with the stupid car." Blood boiling, the brunet tossed his wrench down onto the ground where it landed with a heavy thud. "I. . . I thought I'd fixed it, Nya." His head fell perfectly into his oil stained hands. Kai didn't know why he bothered coming into work every day. He wasn't good at being a mechanic and he honestly didn't know why. After his mother had passed away, Kai remembered his father throwing himself into his work more, trying to share his craft and passion with his kids. Nya had picked it all up instantly. But Kai. . .

"Just, don't worry about," Nya, his sister, said. "I'll fix it. You can. . . do whatever you want." She grabbed the wrench off of the ground and slid her way underneath of the car, ignoring the puddle of oil that soaked the back of her clothes and hair. Within seconds, the steady sound of leaking pressure and oil subsided.

Kai fumed as he tore through the shop he'd grown up in, seizing an old rag from off of a stool to wipe his hands on. Once his hands were as clean as they could be without a good shower, he dabbed at the oil stain that was steadily dripping its way down his faded red coveralls. The smell of the metal and oil that filled the very air of the shop was making Kai sick to his stomach. This was all he'd ever known, but it still felt unfamiliar. "I'm sorry, Dad," Kai said, leaning back against the tool chest behind him. "I let you down. Every time I try, I fail, and I just can't figure out what I'm suppose to do." He threw the rag in his hands over his shoulder. "But I know I'm just not suppose to do _this_."

"You're not moping again, are you?" Nya placed a hand on her brother's arm. "Everyone messes up sometimes, Kai. It's no big deal."

"I'm tired of messing up," the brunet spat, light brown eyes narrowed. "Failing drives me crazy and that's all I ever seem to do."

Nya rolled her eyes. "Look, that was the last car that we had to work on today. Just take tomorrow off and try to relax or something."

Shrugging his sister's hand off of him, Kai stood and started walking away. "Sure, I'll do that. Not like you'll miss me here anyway. You'll probably have all of the cars done before noon." Ignoring the satisfied chuckle he heard behind him, Kai continued walking until the bright evening sun hit his face. "'Take tomorrow off and try to relax or something'. Yeah, great idea, sis. Lemme just figure out what to do to try and forget about how I'm terrible at my own job. It's not like something's just going to-"

He was blinded. Kai sputtered, prying something off of his face that had gotten picked up in a sudden gust of wind. The paper in his hands was advertising something that made him laugh. Nature? Who would ever want to just go out and explore nature? Well, apparently this Cole Brookstone would want to. "You know what? Why not? I have nothing better to do. The farther away from the shop tomorrow, the better."

* * *

For once in a very, very long time, someone had actually dialed Cole's number.

It'd been two guys, both scheduling a trip for later this afternoon. Since the moment Cole's phone had rung, the black haired man hadn't stopped smiling. He'd known pursuing his true desires wasn't going to be easy. His father had made sure to tell Cole over and over how difficult it would be for him to make any money as a nature guide.

"People just aren't interested anymore, Col,." his father had said, sighing in disappointment. Cole had been used to the sound, as he seemed to let his father down more and more with each decision he made. "With technology and all those sorts of better entertainment, who is going to spend an afternoon rock climbing?"

" _I_ am," Cole had replied, before stomping out the door. At that moment, leaving home seemed to be the only reasonable thing to do. He'd been in the heat of the argument, passion guiding his actions rather than cool logic. Cole regretted running away plenty of times since the incident, but never had the courage to return to his father's doorstep.

Cole strapped on his heavy brown hiking boots, shaking away the memory and packing the necessary equipment for his day's work. He didn't know if the two guys would dare to actually rock climb, but it was better to be prepared. Once everything was ready to go, Cole trotted outside, breathing in the fresh air. Every regret that had filled him moments before dissipated.

He loved being outside. Loved the smell of earth, of life, around him. It filled him with a sense of ecstasy that was hard to top. It didn't matter if his father thought Cole was crazy. This was so, so very worth it.

After an hour or so of walking, Cole reached the small cabin where he'd agreed to meet the others. Dropping the heavy bag of equipment upon the dirt, the dark haired man leaned back against the wooden walls. He closed his eyes, his ears tuning in to nature's music. If it was up to him, Cole would remain like this forever.

A loud rumbling sound cut through the peace and quiet, making the nature guide slowly open his eyes. The sound grew louder, and seconds later, a red pick-up truck drove into the cabin's parking spot. Behind the wheel sat a young man whose brown hair stood at sharp, odd angles. Trying not to smirk at the sight, Cole walked forward to greet his first customer.

"Hello!" He waved, faking the largest smile he could muster. "You must be. . ."

"Kai," the man answered, sliding out of his vehicle and slamming the door shut. "And. . . well this isn't exactly my thing. I just. . . I found your flyer and wanted to do something different-"

"No matter!" Cole continued to smile. "We'll start simple. Everyone starts somewhere, Kai, so don't be ashamed to tell me if we're moving too fast."

The brunet ran a hand through his hair and gave a sharp laugh. "Take it easy there, Brookrock. You're making this sound more like a date than an outdoor excursion." He watched Cole's smile fade almost instantly, his lips falling into a thin line. "Relax," Kai said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It was just a joke. Trying to make some conversation."

"Aw, people are telling jokes without me?"

Kai and Cole turned their attention away from each other and towards the new voice that had spontaneously joined. A man slowly trudged towards them, a glint of amusement in his blue eyes. "I'm pretty much the master of comedy, so I don't like being left out." He had a tight grip on both straps of a backpack that looked as if it was weighing him down. The ends of the man's auburn hair were beginning to curl up where they touched his sweating forehead.

"Please don't tell me you walked all the way out here," Kai said, his eyes wide.

The man dropped his large, oddly square, backpack to the ground, revealing lines of sweat along his blue shirt where the straps had rested. "I didn't know this would be a group thing though. Now I'm even more excited! Hi, my name's Jay." He offered his hand to Kai who stared at it for a while before shaking it.

"Kai," the brunet answered. "And you completely ignored what I said."

"No, no," Jay grinned, pulling his hand away from Kai and wiggling an index finger. "You told me not to tell you that I walked here. So I didn't." The man ignored Kai's unsavory gaze and turned to Cole. "So you must be Cole Brookstone then! Thanks for squeezing me in so soon. You're probably really busy so I don't want us to take up too much of your time."

Cole shook Jay's hand and smiled once again. "Oh, well, I'm usually really busy," he lied, clearing his throat immediately afterwards. "But today is a bit of a slow day, so you two are the only people that I have to guide today. We can take as much time to just explore the woods in the area or-"

"Can we climb the mountain now?" Jay asked, slowly picking up his backpack.

Taken aback by Jay's blunt attitude, Cole just nodded, dumbfounded. "Uh, yeah, sure. . . We can start heading towards the mountain and then I'll help you guys get some gear on so we can climb it. Sound good?" His grey eyes landed on Kai who hadn't spoken for a little while now. "If that's okay with you, Kai. Like I said, we don't have to rush-"

"It's fine with me, Brookpebble," Kai said, his expression neutral. "If the funny man wants to climb a mountain, then we can start heading to the mountain."

* * *

As they walked, Jay clutched his backpack tightly, trying to ignore the weight of it. Right before calling, as Jay was on the verge of dumping the strange business card onto the trash, an idea had popped into his mind. _Rock climbing_. That meant mountains. And mountains meant high ground.

And high ground meant he could test his invention.

A pair of wings, ones he'd fashioned from scrap metal and cloth. The idea of flying had always been humanity's greatest desire, and now Jay would make it a reality. And then he'd be everyone's hero. He could already hear the cheers, chanting his name as he-

"Jay?"

Cole's voice snapped Jay back into reality. The blue eyed man shook his head, snapping his eyes into focus. The nature guide stood before him, holding a rope towards Jay. "I said, you shouldn't carry that with you. I'm guessing you're a beginner? The weight is just going to make it harder to climb up."

Jay grabbed hold of the straps tighter, stepping back defensively. "No, no. My backpack stays. I'm strong enough."

Cole sighed. Maybe he was better off staying away from people. These small interactions with the two guys made him realize how badly his patience for people had dropped. With their small comments and stubborn attitudes, it was all Cole could do not to leave them stranded in the forest. "Well. Alright. If you say so."

Jay smiled widely. He was better at persuading people than he thought. Must be his natural charisma, something that would be extremely useful once he was famous. Jay patted the side of his backpack, making sure that everything was as it should be.

Then the three of them started the climb.

There was no talking. Kai and Jay didn't have any breath left in them to create any words, and Cole preferred peace and, apart from a couple 'You doing okay?'s and 'How are you holding up?'s, the climb was done in utter silence. Jay began to regret bringing his invention. Cole had been right, it weighed him down far too much. His shoulders had begun to ache furiously, and the only thing he wanted to do was cut the straps off to make his climbing easier. But then he thought of his future again (millions of fans, millions of interviews, and, most of all, millions of dollars), and Jay propelled himself forward.

Kai wasn't doing too great either. The only thing that prevented him from whining was his own stubborn determination. He wasn't going to give Brookboulder any reasons to call him a beginner. Besides, being out here was far better than being locked up inside the auto shop. There was something extremely satisfying about testing his limits, a certain kind of pleasure that the four suffocating walls of his job didn't provide.

Cole, on the other hand, was having the best time of his life. Not only was he doing what he loved more than anything, but he would actually get paid for it too! It was almost too good to be true. Sure, it might only be two customers, and sure, he was bound to return to having nothing to do tomorrow, but for today, things were just as he thought they would be. This was what he'd dreamed of when he'd stepped outside of his home, leaving everything he'd ever known behind.

The black haired man's hand grabbed hold of the mountain top, a satisfied smirk lighting up his sweaty features. Once again, he'd done it. This mountain was nothing more than a warm up at this point. His muscles weren't even stinging yet. In one fluid motion, Cole swung himself onto the mountain. He ran his hands through his hair, then froze on the spot, almost tumbling back in shock.

An old man was staring straight at him, calmly sipping at a cup of tea.


	3. Off on the Wrong Foot

Chapter Three: Off on the Wrong Foot

"How. . . What. . ?" Cole couldn't think of anything to say. Words tripped over one another, searching for the most polite way to ask the man how he'd gotten up there. The task seemed impossible to do, so the rock climber opted to keep his mouth shut and wait for the others to show up. The old man had no problem with the silence, and he too waited patiently for the others to arrive. When Kai pulled himself up, he stood in shock, same as Cole, staring at the man before him.

"How did you get up here?" Kai spat, one of his eyebrows raised.

"I climbed, of course. How else does one reach the peak of a mountain?" The old man chuckled, once again sipping his cup of tea.

Kai felt heat rise to his cheeks. "You've got no equipment. Surely you must have had help."

The man stood, walking closer towards the angered mechanic. "Do not let my aged looks deceive you. I am far more powerful than you realize, Kai."

"How'd you-"

"Whoa!" Jay joined the rest of the group, his blue eyes wide with surprise. The young man chuckled nervously, playing with the straps of his back pack. "Where'd _you_ come from? Oh _man_ did this oldie really beat me too? I'm way too out of shape."

"Do not feel bad, Jay," the old man replied, offering Jay a small smile. "You have not had the training I've had. But you could, if you wished to."

"Training?" Jay raised his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to question the man further, but something else caught his attention. "Whoa , whoa, whoa. How'd you know my name?"

The man smirked, clearly glad at being questioned. "I've been watching you three. You show great potential."

"Watching. . . us," Cole repeated slowly, feeling chills travel up his arms. Somehow, that sentence didn't sit too well with him. "And why would you be doing such a thing?"

The old man smirked, bringing the cup in his hands to his lips one final time, finishing off the tea. "Because, in my line of work, we can't just wait around for kids like you to realize that they have skills that could be useful in. . . unconventional ways." His eyes swept across the three men in front of them, trying to gauge their reactions. Jay looked completely entranced by every word the man said. Kai looked less than impressed, a sour look on his face. Cole's emotions betrayed him, plastering his faux stoic face with concern. "Sometimes we have to seek you out ourselves."

"That doesn't explain anything," Kai spat. "So you're making up creepy reasons to spy on people, so what? Why us?" A sudden thought struck him and he turned towards Cole. "You're in on this too then," he accused, watching the nature guide's eyes widen. "I would have never decided to come out here if I hadn't found your stupid flyer. Now I'm here in the middle of nowhere with a stalker, and I've seen enough movies to know that I'm probably not gonna make it back down this mountain alive."

A sharp gasp escaped Jay's lips. "Oh man. . . the comic relief always dies first in movies!" His hands tightened around the straps of his backpack. He might only have one shot at an escape, but he would be willing to take a leap of faith at a moment's notice. There really was no better way to test his invention.

"No one is dying," Cole said, raising his voice. His grey eyes locked on to Kai's. "I'm not working with anybody. I've never seen this guy before in my life. I can promise you that." As the ambient sounds of the forest engulfed the silence, Kai just shot the nature guide a single nod, giving Cole the confidence to turn back to the old man. "You mentioned training and you said that you were watching us because it's your job. What. . . What exactly do you do?"

The man gave a small smirk, gripping the cobalt tea cup tightly in both of his hands. "Oh, Cole. If I just told you that, then you wouldn't believe me."

"Try us," Kai challenged.

"Perhaps it would be more convincing if you let me _show_ you."

* * *

"Welcome, to N.I.N.J.A.G.O."

Jay, Cole and Kai stepped into a brightly lit building, their skin embedded with sweat. Climbing down a mountain minutes after having climbed up had exhausted them, and yet the old man seemed as active as always. Once they'd reached the bottom, he'd led them through a maze of trees, until finally revealing a well hidden entrance to the strange location. Kai and Cole hung back, still untrusting of the man before them. Jay, however, skipped right into the building, smiling wide.

"Air conditioning!" He shouted, throwing his arms wide. "Oh how I've missed you!"

"I think we need to be careful," Cole muttered, pushing Jay's left arm down. "We don't know who he is or what he wants. Him knowing our names was strange enough, but this. . . this is too much."

Jay looked at the rock climber, shrugging nonchalantly. "I figure if he had wanted to kill us, he would have done it already. I mean, look at the old man. He's obviously some kind of. . . super human or something."

"Not a super human, Jay, Simply well trained," the man answered. "And, please. I am not just some 'old man'. I would prefer if you called me Sensei Wu."

"Sensei?" Kai rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Reluctantly, he moved forward to follow the others. His brown eyes shifted left and right, making sure to keep aware of his surroundings. Rock boy was right. This _was_ too much.

"It's his attempt at humor." Another voice answered. A grey haired man stepped in, wearing a black suit. A couple of wrinkles betrayed his age, and there were dark circles underneath each of his eyes. The man shook his head, running a hand through his hair. " _This_ is what you're doing to save my son? Bringing in pathetic newbies? Misako will rip them to shreds."

Wu sighed, signaling for the others to stop where they were. "You don't understand my thoughts behind this. If you'll just let me give them the big speech, then we can move on to how this is going to be the best course of action for recovering Lloyd."

"Pathetic?" Kai strode away from his newly formed acquaintances, ignoring the strained commands from Cole to stop. The two aged men locked eyes on the brunet, but it appeared that Kai had his sight focused on only one. With a fire burning in his stomach, the mechanic stopped directly in front of the man with the grey hair. "I don't know who you are, but no one calls me pathetic, old man." Kai watched as the man gave a chuckle, his shoulders bouncing. Without being able to get a good grip on his temper, Kai threw a punch at the man's face.

Except, the man wasn't standing anymore.

Just as the brunet realized his opponent had crouched at a moment's notice, he was trying to stop the momentum of his punch. The man smirked up at the boy, quickly maneuvering himself around to give Kai a kick on the back of his knees. Within seconds, Kai was on the ground, staring up at the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling, feeling very disoriented. Propping himself up on his elbows, the mechanic felt his face turn the brightest shade of red as he watched the man wave away imaginary dust from his shoulders before adjusting the jacket of his suit.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the man replied, a hint of arrogance sparking in his clearly tired eyes. "You were busy trying to intimidate me. If you'd like to give it another go, I'll try to play along this time."

Kai was on his feet again in no time at all, still ignoring Cole and Jay as they tried to dissuade him. His teeth were set hard against each other as he started to close the distance between himself and the old man. That was, until, a hand pulled him backwards.

"Don't tease the people that can help us with Lloyd," Wu chastised, keeping Kai grounded in place. He seemed to exert no effort as he prevented the mechanic from sprinting towards his brother. "You're making a very bad first impression, Garmadon. It isn't wise."

Garmadon inhaled, keeping himself from smiling at the impatient boy in front of him. "Because you'd know all about wisdom, right Wu?" With that, he turned on his heel, approaching Cole and Jay. He watched Cole visibly stiffen at his sudden presence, while Jay seemed more impressed than anything. "What a _great_ group you've scrounged up, brother. The one with the backpack seems too. . . excitable." Garmadon watched Jay's face fall. "No amount of training would give him the discipline to work effectively in a job that requires stealth." Then Garmadon's eyes settled on Cole. "This one, with the bangs, is too unsure. Clear focus and drive is needed in this line of work and I'm not sure he'll be able to handle the pressure."

"And then. . ." Garmadon clasped his hands behind his back, leaving Cole and Jay speechless as he made his way towards Kai once more. "This one. He's a piece of work. Hot-headed. Reckless. Disrespectful." He watched Kai's lip pull up in the corner, most likely from disgust. "And this is why you are pathetic."


	4. First Step

**Hi guys, Kiwi here. Just a little prelude to tell you that there won't be a new chapter next week because TombRaiderNinja and I are actually going to be meeting each other. So we're gonna spend the time just chilling instead of writing. See you all in two weeks. :)**

* * *

Chapter Four: First Step

Kai still felt the anger pulsing against his cheeks, the flush of battle still tainting his skin. He didn't want to give the man the satisfaction of proving him right twice in a day however, so he allowed his brown eyes to lower. Still, he couldn't help but utter a couple of final words.

"At least I can work on that," the failed mechanic hissed. "But you can't fix your aging bones."

"Why you-" Garmadon lunged forward, but Wu stepped in front of Kai, his staff raised. Cole and Jay exchanged surprised glances. They could have sworn Wu's hands had been empty before. And yet, the staff seemed as real as anything else in the room. Garmadon's rapid breathing softened, and he straightened his suit, pushing his greying hair back into place. "You won't live long in this world, hot-head."

Then, turning towards Wu, Garmadon hissed. "I shouldn't have trusted you with this. It's something I should do on my own."

Pushing Jay and Cole aside roughly, the man stepped out of the building with a confident stride. Wu sighed, shaking his head. "We have even less time than I thought. . . We must have you three trained before my brother decides to get himself killed."

"Okay, okay, okay." Jay waved his arms with each word, pushing Kai aside to face the old man. "I've got a _lot_ of questions right now. Is it time for questions yet? Because I'm really confused. I mean, I'm totally digging this, but, I'm not exactly sure I know what _this_ is."

Sensei Wu chuckled softly, nodding. "I like your eagerness, Jay. Despite my brother's words, I think your energy will be a great asset to the team. Now, let me give you a tour and I'll explain everything."

Cole walked up behind Kai and placed a hand on his shoulder, only to have Kai shrug it off almost instantly. "You okay there?" The words barely escaped Cole's lips before the mechanic just nodded in response. Grey eyes drifting towards Jay and Wu, deep in conversation, Cole continued his one sided conversation. "I'm still not sure what's going on here, but I'm not sure if I want a part in it."

Kai swallowed hard, keeping his gaze on the ground. The voices surrounding him were nothing more than a dull buzz in the back of his mind, but he tossed around Cole's words carefully, weighing them against everything the man named Garmadon had said. _Misako will rip them to shreds._ Who was this Misako person? Why did these brothers need _their_ help? _Clear focus and drive is needed in this line of work._ What exactly _were_ they getting themselves roped up in? Kai's heart was sinking faster every second, his veins feeling like they were flooding with ice. "I-I'm not sure if we're going to have a choice," the mechanic whispered, uncertain if Cole actually heard the response.

"There's always a choice, Kai."

The brunet turned around, lifting his eyes to meet those of Wu. "If you don't feel that you could complete what I'm going to ask of you, then you don't have to. This line of work calls for full commitment and I can assure you that it's _not_ for everyone."

"Uh, speaking of that, I believe you said something about an explanation," Cole chimed in. "I think I'd like to hear that."

Wu nodded, transferring the staff he was still gripping to just his right hand, using it to aid his walking. "Of course. Forgive me, but sometimes I get a bit sidetracked. Please, follow me."

The aging man started down a hall that seemed to be swallowed up by darkness, but as the others followed closely behind, the ceiling fixtures above them flickered to life as they approached the boundaries of the light. Jay smiled widely, enjoying the theatrics as Wu continued their walk. Everything surrounding them was so new and innovative. Shiny tubes flowed from one machine to another, connecting everything in a network of metal. Computers lined the walls, people clothed in black typing away furiously, checking monitors splashed with images that the group couldn't discern from their distance. "So cool," Jay breathed, completely entranced.

"As I said when we entered, this is N.I.N.J.A.G.O," Wu said, keeping his gaze focused ahead, but swinging the staff in his hand back to give Jay a smack to the shoulder. "Please pay attention. I can feel your mind wandering."

"Great, this is Ninjago," Kai answered, trying his hardest to keep his eyes on his warped reflection in the tile beneath. The sheer magnitude of everything surrounding him called to him though, tantalizing his curiosity. "I'm pretty sure I already knew where I lived, _Sensei_ , but thanks for clearing it up."

The staff now cracked the mechanic on the shoulder, causing him to grimace and rub his injury. "Not Ninjago," Wu continued. "N.I.N.J.A.G.O. The National Intelligence Network for Justice Against Grievous Offenders. We're an independent organization founded by my father to help keep the nation at peace while staying out of the public eye. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and the people of Ninjago can't be bothered with the dangers or evil that lurk just outside of their sight. It would be too overwhelming. That's where we come in. We use our means of surveillance to find new recruits, take them in, train them, and send them into the field to continue our work."

"N.I.N.J.A.G.O has seen its fair share of hard times. Back when my father was still in charge of everything, he almost lost the organization to an up and coming rogue faction, Codename Overlord. The struggle lasted for a while, but my father managed to subdue the traitors before deciding to retire and hand the reins over to me."

Cole crossed his arms over his chest. "So you're spies."

"It sounds so boring when you say it like that," Wu sighed. "But, yes, we are spies, more or less. And we actually aren't in desperate need for any new faces to add to our ranks. Unfortunately. . ."

 _This is what you're doing to save my son? Bringing in pathetic newbies?_ Something clicked in Kai's mind. Everything was starting to make a bit more sense. "Your brother, the one who insulted us, he said something about us. . . saving his son?"

"Indeed," Wu nodded. "And you must forgive him. He is not in the best of moods."

"I could tell," Kai grumbled.

"Now, before I can fully answer your questions, you must answer mine." The man stopped walking, turning to face the three young men. "Are you willing to take on N.I.N.J.A.G.O's training? Once you have started, there will be no going back. This is no walk in the park. It is all, or nothing."

"Yeah!" Jay shouted without hesitation, his smile wide. "Of course I want to join, are you kidding? Who wouldn't?"

Wu smiled, nodding his head towards the blue eyed man. Then he turned towards Cole and Kai, the question glinting upon his features. Cole shuffled awkwardly, looking everywhere but at Wu himself. This spy business. . . It seemed too. . . surreal. If he agreed to this, every moment of his life would be spent on edge, constantly running, no longer shielded from the land's true darkness. Then again, something like this would be the one thing he needed to put his strength and stamina to good use. The old man's brother had been right. There was no doubt that Cole was talented, but he lacked purpose. He had no path. But maybe this could be something he could follow.

Besides, he knew it was the right thing to do.

"I'm in," he stated, finally making eye contact with Wu. The man acknowledged his words then turned towards Kai.

"Join?" Kai allowed the word to roll off his tongue, thinking everything over. It all seemed crazy. And dangerous. Why should _he_ risk his life while everyone else was allowed to walk around in blissful ignorance? Why should _he_ be the one to take on the hard work, while everyone else sat back?

The thought of the auto shop popped into his head. Nya's disappointed sighs as he failed at fixing a car once again. The customers, with their endless complaints and their shrill, annoying voices. The day to day routine, which left him with nothing but desire for _more_.

"I'll do it," Kai finally said, running his hand through his spiked brown hair. "But I hope I don't have to train under grumpy pants."

"Oh, no, no," Wu shook his head, then chuckled to himself as he imagined his brother attempting to train the new recruits.

"You then?" Jay suggested, shivering with excitement.

"Not me, no," Wu said. "I simply overview N.I.N.J.A.G.O's operations. But don't worry, your trainer is every bit as capable as me."

The three men exchanged glances, each of their eyebrows raised in question.

"Well, come along now!" The old man turned around, and continued to walk further down the hall. "Time for you to meet Agent Zane."

"Wait, now that we've basically agreed to work for you blindly, can we actually have more questions answered?" Kai stood with his arms crossed, not exactly regretting the decision he'd made, but feeling very anxious about it. "You said you weren't in need of new recruits, yet you managed to get us all together in one place so you could tell us you need us. And it has something to do with this 'Misako' and your brother's son."

"Misako? I have that name in my database, but there is no information filed under it. Could you possibly share what you know about Misako?"

Kai jumped at the sound of the new and unexpected voice, stumbling backwards into Jay who gave a yelp of surprise. Cole rolled his eyes and placed a hand on the blue eyed man's back to steady him before scrutinizing the new addition to the group. The man before them had fair blond hair and cobalt colored eyes. He was clothed in black attire similar to that of the other few people the group had seen around the facility, except for the white cuffs of his shirt. The small smile on his face seemed genuine, but Cole raised an eyebrow. It felt as if the guy wasn't all there, but he shook the feeling away. "No one knows anything about. . . uh. . . Misako."

The man's face fell and he took a step backwards, falling into line beside Wu. "My apologies then. I did not mean to frighten you either."

Wu gave a large grin, patting the man on his back hard. "Showing up when you're needed, as always," he said before addressing his new recruits. "This here is Agent Zane. He's one of our top operatives in training combat and scenarios. He's been working with N.I.N.J.A.G.O for quite a long time now. And, since he decided to come to _us_ , I'll tell you what you need to know now because I won't have to explain myself twice."

"Took you long enough. . ." Kai muttered under his breath, receiving an elbow in the rib from Jay.

"My brother had been an agent in our organization for quite some time. We grew up in this world of secrets and conspiracies. We were molded from a very young age to become what our father always wanted us to be. And Garmadon was the best there was, even more so after our father decided to retire. But even those trained in the arts of combat and stealth cannot hide their true selves forever. Garmadon fell in love, with a civilian, during a routine perimeter sweep."

"That's so sweet," Jay interrupted, his eyes wide. "Love is such a beautiful thing. . ."

Wu closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers and inhaling deeply. "Yes, beautiful. Anyway, Garmadon wanted to start distancing himself from N.I.N.J.A.G.O because he feared losing the love of his life. But, commitments are commitments. He knew he couldn't stop living the life he'd always known, so Garmadon did what he thought would be best. He brought his lover into our world. Trained her himself. Took her on missions with him. They were a great team, the _best_ actually. Until she found that she was with child."

Cole cracked a smirk. "Looks like they were a great team in more ways than just spying. . ." Jay was sent into a fit of giggles, the sound echoing loudly in the room.

Trying his hardest to ignore the outbursts of his new recruits, Wu continued on. "As soon as Garmadon discovered this, he immediately decided that he wanted to pull out of his espionage based lifestyle. He wanted his child to have a choice, something we were never given as kids. If his child ever decided that N.I.N.J.A.G.O was something they were interested in, Garmadon wouldn't hold them back from it. Unfortunately, his now wife, didn't feel the same way about it. She viewed the child as more of a weapon, a way to destroy anyone that ever opposed the agency. That she and Garmadon would train it to be a killing machine. Knowing this, shortly after their baby boy, Lloyd, was born, Garmadon filed for divorce and gained sole custody of the child."

"When does everything turn sour?" Kai asked, looking irrefutably bored by this point. "You wouldn't need us if everything ended with a happily ever after."

"I am getting to that point! Can you three let me talk, please?" Wu regretted raising his voice, but his patience was beginning to wear thin. "Sorry, just please don't interrupt anymore. We're almost done. Both Garmadon and his former flame fell off of our radar for a while, until I noticed unexpected movement the other night. I called to warn Garmadon about the possible threat, and I assume he handled it as best as he could, but the whole confrontation ended in disaster. And Misako took Lloyd."

"Oh! So Misako was the girl your brother loved!" Jay nodded, proud of himself for finally understanding. "I got it now!"

Cole nodded in understanding. "And you need _us_ to help you with this because. . .?"

"Misako knows every one of our agents all too well," Wu explained. "Sending those she fought alongside to fight against her would be futile. Sending someone new, someone she knows nothing of, would be our best plan of action."

"Although that is a brilliant plan," Zane nodded his head in respect, before continuing his statement. "I do not see how new recruits would be capable of defeating one such as Misako. The possibilities of-"

"Not now, Zane," Wu raised his hand, asking for silence. He then looked towards the others. "You will receive the best training. You have the greatest potential I have seen in a couple of years, and I truly do believe you will be able to defeat her. As Kai was so intent on pointing out earlier, we are aging. You three, however, are just now scratching the surface of your potential. I have no doubt that you'll be able to bring victory to N.I.N.J.A.G.O."

"Yeah!" Jay nodded enthusiastically. He felt a bit shaky at the thought of facing this 'Misako' woman, but at the thought of training, all worry was wiped from his mind. His eyes once again wandered around, and he felt excitement tingle at the tips of his fingers each time he spotted a cool gadget. They were everywhere, and the blue-eyed man couldn't wait to learn about them all.

"Well, now that we've all agreed," the old man said. "How about I show you to your sleeping quarters?"


	5. Flirting with Disaster

**And we're back this week. Back to regularly scheduled updating like we always do. No regrets about last week though. TombRaiderNinja and I had to much fun running around together. XD**

* * *

Chapter Five: Flirting with Disaster

Garmadon held his breath, pressing his body against the shadows cast by the building beside him. It hadn't been too hard to find Misako's headquarters. Wu had been keeping tabs on her ever since she'd broken away, and hacking into his brother's system had been too simple. Garmadon felt better now. He knew where Lloyd was, and he would rescue him himself. It was clear that Wu had no idea what he was doing, bringing in new recruits to do something so important. Garmadon regretted ever having called his brother. He had plenty of experience, and he shouldn't have thought of asking for help. He didn't need it.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, marching rhythmically towards him. The former agent smiled, flexing his fingers. Adrenaline began to flow throughout his body, and he began to count down for the perfect moment to attack. If he said he hadn't missed this, he would be lying to himself. He welcomed the familiar rush, stepping back into the man he used to be.

As soon as the two guards walked past Garmadon, the man attacked. He swung his left leg, his heel smacking one of the guard's skulls with a satisfying crack. Now unconscious, one of his enemies crumpled onto the ground. The other turned to face Garmadon, quickly forgetting his initial surprise and reaching for the gun strapped against his waist. Acting fast, Garmadon swiped the guard's gun himself, then slammed the back of it upon the remaining guard's head.  
The second body hit the floor.

A smirk broke out across Garmadon's face. He'd be back home with Lloyd in absolutely no time, and then his brother could disband the new recruits he had obviously picked up from an arcade. They were just a bunch of kids and kids couldn't be entrusted to get Lloyd back. _You never stayed to listen to Wu's plan for them_ , his thoughts interjected as he quietly made his way down a corridor, eyes sweeping from left to right. _You didn't even give them a chance. You were nothing more than a kid when your father trained_ you. This was different. Garmadon had nothing to prove when he'd started to edge his way into this world. The life of his son was at stake and he wasn't going to let Lloyd's safety be a field test for some greenhorns.

Approaching footfall broke him from his thoughts and Garmadon instinctively looked around for an alcove to take shelter in or somewhere to conceal himself. Unfortunately, there were none. He could try and knock the approaching guard out, but if the body count steadily rose, his presence would be discovered that much faster. Garmadon needed to get in and out with Lloyd as quickly as he possibly could. Inhaling deeply, the man sprinted a couple of feet and then jumped towards his right, using the momentum to kick off of the wall.

As he continued his back and forth journey from wall to wall, Garmadon could feel his legs starting to shake. The guard was in his line of sight now and Garmadon decided to stay where he was, spreading his arms and legs as far apart as they could go and shifting himself to be parallel with the floor below. Despite the fact that the corridor was narrow, Garmadon could feel his muscles screaming as he tried to keep himself in place, his fingertips barely reaching the walls. As the guard passed below him, the man held his breath, hoping beyond hope that his enemy would have no reason to look up as he walked.

For a moment, it seemed as if everything would go according to plan. But then the shaking in Garmadon's arms worsened, as his muscles cried out in protest. His hold slipped, and Garmadon's body plummeted onto the passing guard, immediately rendering the guard unconscious. Groaning, the old agent stood, stretching out his limbs. Shaking his head, he dragged the body to a more shadowed area of the building. Stepping back to admire his accidental handiwork, Garmadon chuckled weakly to himself.

"Okay, maybe I'm just a _little_ out of practice." Stepping back onto the main path, Garmadon continued to head for the building's stairs. Misako was bound to be somewhere near the top of the building, and Lloyd was bound to be somewhere near Misako. As he trotted upwards, his heart accelerated with adrenaline. He would have to make this as quick as possible. He had been the best once, but he didn't want to test his strength in battle. It hadn't gone too well last time.

Shaking the memories of the night where Lloyd was taken away, Garmadon pushed the door before him open. The hall was extremely lit, leaving no shadows for him to hide in. Cameras watched everything, giving Garmadon no chance at slipping by unseen.

But this is why a spy always comes prepared.

Buried deep within one of the pockets in Garmadon's pants was a device he rarely ever had the chance to use, but it was helpful nonetheless. His fingers curled around the small, remote-like device as he peered his head around the corner of the new hall. The cameras suspended from the ceiling swiveled when they detected any movement, and the periodic wall cameras were stationary. If he didn't use the electronic disrupter in his pocket now, there'd be no way he would make it down the corridor without alerting the entire building.

"Now or never," he whispered to himself, pressing the metal button along the top of the remote. He waited a couple of seconds before sprinting down the hallway as quietly as he possibly could. The cameras should be disabled for a little while longer, not enough to catch any guards' attention, but enough to scramble the image. It would hide his presence.

By the time Garmadon made it down the end of the hallway, he was slightly winded. His pure adrenaline was the only thing fueling him now. But he was growing closer to Lloyd with every step, and that was good enough for him.

Garmadon walked forward a bit more, trying to recall the map of the building. In his growing age, it had become increasingly difficult to rely on his memory, but he hadn't had time to draw out a physical copy of it. It didn't matter. No one should know he was inside the building, and he would have all the time in the world to look. It had been silly of Misako not to equip herself with more security. But, hey, Garmadon wasn't about to complain.

"Oh, darling, you didn't really think that old trick would work on _me_ , did you?"

Freezing on the spot, Garmadon reluctantly swiveled around to face the owner of the voice. Misako stood there, a satisfied smirk pulling at her blood red lips. Trying to prevent his surprise from showing, Garmadon faked a smile, pushing his hair back in one smooth motion.

"I was a spy too, don't forget that," Misako continued. "I know all of your little tricks."

"Fair enough," Garmadon grumbled. "But I know all of _yours._ Two little agents won't work on me anymore. The only reason you took my son from me is because I'd forgotten how much you like to play dirty little tricks."

"Dirty little tricks, Garmadon? Seems to me like you're just a sore loser." Misako stepped closer, gently stroking Garmadon's cheek. The man scowled, stepping back, away from her touch. Misako's smiled turned into a frown. "You know. . . You, me, Lloyd. . . We could rule Ninjago together. . . We're stronger than Wu and his little soldiers are, or ever will be."

"You know that argument doesn't work with me, Misako."

"Oh c'mon. You know your lust for power is still in there somewhere. . . " The woman stroked Garmadon's chest, running her fingers across the jet black suit. Garmadon's hand shot up, tightly grabbing hold of her wrist. He pushed her away, his lips curled up in disgust.

"Not anymore," he hissed. "Now stop with your petty attempts to tempt me, and give me back my son."

Misako raised an eyebrow, laughing. "Oh, no, no, he's _my_ son too, Garmadon. And he's staying with me. A boy needs his mother, after all."

"Humph."

"And I think I may still surprise you just yet." Misako stepped back. "I've got a couple more 'dirty little tricks' up my sleeve."

Before Garmadon could reply, a sharp kick to his ribs sent him flying against the wall. The man struggled to get up, but before he could do so, another kick in his stomach sent him back onto the ground. Garmadon couldn't see anything. He rolled onto his back, trying to get a better look at his enemy. There was nothing around him. A flash of white whipped past him, wildly fluttering Garmadon's hair. The old agent sat up, rubbing the sore spot on his side. His legs shook as he leaned against the wall for support, his eyes fighting to regain focus.

"I think you're a bit too slow there, buddy," a voice stated loudly, followed by a satisfied chuckle. "Can't even land a blow, can you old man?"

Garmadon turned his head a bit, and finally spotted his light-footed enemy. It was a tall young man, with light brown hair and bright red shades. A large smile seemed to be permanently glued upon his features. "Can't I now? You shouldn't disrespect your elders."

The grey haired man swung a punch forward, but his enemy wasn't there anymore.

Garmadon's eyes widened for a brief second, before a third kick landed upon his back, sending him skidding forward. He heard the man laugh.

"You can't defeat me," he continued to gloat, beating Garmadon down each time he tried to attack. "I'm faster than fast, swifter than swift!"

"You weren't kidding about the dirty tricks then," Garmadon growled, getting to a knee just in time for the mysterious white clad man to deliver a hard punch to his chest. The aging man fell back down, watching for any sign of his newly acquainted assailant. He seemed to be nothing more than a ghost, only appearing when Garmadon's guard was down. Catching the mischievous glint in Misako's eyes, Garmadon frowned again. He wasn't about to be defeated by some arrogant kid.

"Of course not, dear," Misako said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I've never been anything but honest."

Garmadon scoffed, finally managing to get to his feet and pulling his weapon from his belt. "Ha, sure. Since when has being deceitful been the same as being honest?"

"Don't be like that," the woman pouted.

Ignoring this, Garmadon tried to steady his gun, preparing to take a shot at the ghost. But how could he hit someone that he couldn't see? A sudden realization hit Garmadon and he almost laughed. Misako thought she knew him, but would she see _this_ coming?

Training his gun square on Misako's chest, Garmadon pulled the trigger. He only watched her green eyes widen in shock for a second before the bullet suddenly changed its trajectory. Pain exploded in Garmadon's shoulder and he grit his teeth.

"Did you think you could make a cheap shot like that?" Misako laughed. "Turner here wouldn't just let you hurt me and get away with it." The brunet stood in front of the woman, his smile wider than Garmadon had seen it before. "He's too fast for you, Garmadon. Between Turner and all of my other comrades, you'll never win. Lloyd is going to stay here, with me."

He was still trying to wrap his mind around what had happened. It seemed absolutely impossible, but Garmadon was slowly beginning to accept it. The man before him was faster than the speed of light. He had stopped the bullet in mid-air and flipped it around. A cold chill spread through Garmadon's body. He was playing a dangerous game with Misako, and she was going to do whatever it took to win.

With his uninjured arm, Garmadon grabbed a handful of small pellets out of a pouch around his waist and rolled them across the floor. Within seconds, they beeped and exploded, releasing clouds of white smoke into the air, obscuring everything from view. Misako coughed, trying to wave away the smoke with her hands. She could hear the rapid footsteps of Turner around the room, no doubt looking for Garmadon as he tried to make his escape. But Misako knew better. Her love was probably already long gone, making his way back to N.I.N.J.A.G.O and his brother right now. "Don't waste your energy, Turner," she said aloud. "We have much more pressing matters to attend to."

The smoke finally cleared away and Misako saw her comrade's eyebrow raise from beneath his glasses. "Like what?" he asked.

"My son, of course," the woman answered. "He still needs me if he's ever going to be molded into the fighter that he was always meant to be."


	6. Battle Between Brothers

Chapter Six: Battle Between Brothers

Jay snuggled up in the bed, curling up in order for the blanket to cover every inch of him. The air in the room was cold, and he hadn't been able to stop shivering since Zane had led them into the room.

It hadn't been very impressive. Two bunk beds, both covered with grey sheets, standing opposite each other. The walls were painted white, and a bright light illuminated every bit of the room. Seeing as to how amazing the rest of the building looked, it was sort of a disappointment. Jay didn't mind too much, however. This was still the most exciting thing since. . . well, _ever_.

"I can't believe this. It's too cool. It's gotta be a dream." Jay's voice echoed throughout the empty room. From beneath him, he heard Cole groan and turn to his side, still struggling to find a comfortable position. "I mean, we just got recruited to be _spies_. Like in the movies. With guns, and gadgets and battles and. . . it's so surreal!"

"We won't be of much use if we don't get some sleep," Cole complained. "We can talk tomorrow."

"How can you not be excited?" Jay gasped, jumping up into a sitting position. "You heard the old man. We've got _potential_."

"Are we sure he didn't pick the blabbermouth by accident?" Kai growled, placing the pillow above his head, trying to cover his ears. "Don't see how much of an asset _he's_ going to be."

"And we're still talking," Cole muttered.

The mechanic threw his pillow back under his head and sighed loudly, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. What was his sister doing right now? He'd told her he was going out to spend the day in the woods earlier, but what would she do when he didn't come back? Kai turned on to his right side, now facing the wall of the room. They were the only family each other had left. Deciding to take up the old man's offer was looking more selfish by the second. Would he even see Nya again?

"It's so hard to sleep," Jay continued, his voice rising an octave. "We might as well just start training now. I need to do something with all this energy. I'm feeling all jittery inside."

Cole closed his eyes. "You might be able to run around for hours without sleep, but I can't." _Of course, it's not going to be easy to fall asleep anyway. This isn't my bed. This isn't my home._ He turned on his side and glanced up at the bunk across the room. "See, Kai's got the right idea. Now we should just follow his lead so we're all ready for whatever is gonna be thrown at us in the morning."

"Yes, that is very wise. We are never very kind to rookies, unfortunately."

Adrenaline now flooding through his body, Cole bolted up in bed, the top of his head colliding with the underside of Jay's bunk. He turned towards the new voice that had joined the conversation. Zane was sitting on the bottom bed across the room, absolutely stoic. "W-What. . . When did you get in here? _Why_ are you in here?"

Zane stared at Cole before glancing up at Jay, noticing the large smile still plastered on his face. As he continued to stare at the enthusiastic recruit, spiky hair entered his line of sight. Kai was leaning down from his bunk, getting a good look at the intruder. "I've been in here for just a minute or two," Zane said. "As to your second question, I just wanted to see if you were all okay. It can be a little difficult, adjusting to this lifestyle."

"So. . . how long did it take for _you_ to adjust?" Kai asked, still peering at the agent, upside down. "You seem okay with everything now."

The man shrugged. "I adapted fairly quickly. After all, this _is_ the only life I have ever known." Just then the watch around Zane's right wrist started beeping and he stood, nodding to the people staring at him. "Please excuse me, but I need to take care of something."

* * *

Garmadon struggled to walk, pushing the door to N.I.N.J.A.G.O's headquarters opened with his unharmed arm. He staggered into the building, his eyes unfocused. Pain and nausea swam within his body, making it a challenge to keep moving forward. After endless seconds, Garmadon stumbled into his room, allowing his body to crumple onto the mattress.

It wasn't long before the door to his room slid open again.

"Go away, Wu," Garmadon hissed, knowing it must be his brother. No one else would have dared to bother him, thanks to his reputation. N.I.N.J.A.G.O agents knew to fear him, except for the new recruits that is. At the thought of them, Garmadon felt a surge of anger well up inside him. "I don't want to talk to anyone. Much less to you."

"You are hurt," Wu stepped close, ignoring his brother's words. "I must call Zane. He will patch up your wounds."

"I don't need him," Garmadon forced himself to sit up, flinching at the sudden movement. He closed his eyes, hoping it would lessen the pounding in his head. "I'm _fine_. I was just. . . doing nothing."

"Oh, yes. You do tend to get _shot_ at when doing 'nothing'." Wu shook his head. "So, did you see her?"

"Misako?"

Wu raised an eyebrow, "Well, how many women do we know?"

"You make us sound pathetic," Garmadon laughed softly, the sound slowly evolving into a rattling cough. "Yes, I saw her. She's not alone either. There was. . . this guy. Inhuman speed. He was able to stop my bullet in midair and aim it back towards _me_. I don't know what game she's playing at. But we have to stop her, _now_."

"Zane is on his way." The old man messed with a watch-like device on his wrist before looking back up at his wounded brother. "We will stop her, Garmadon. You know I would never let anything happen to my nephew."

Seconds later, Zane burst through the door, startling both Wu and Garmadon. With his usual stoic expression, Zane began to work, ripping apart Garmadon's suit to get a better look at the wound.

"Ah! That wasn't free you know. . ." Garmadon muttered under his breath. He turned back towards Wu, shaking his head. "You know, I'm not sure your little recruits will be up to the task. Against Misako's new team. . . We might as well send marshmallows to rescue my son."

"Actually, marshmallows would do a worse job at the rescue," Zane piped in. "They are inanimate objects, therefore, they cannot think, or plan, or fight."

"Why do we keep him around again?" Garmadon sighed, massaging his forehead.

Wu gave a light chuckle. "Because he always manages to provide us with a few laughs." Zane diverted his attention away from Garmadon for a second, his curiosity obviously piqued. "But, uh, you know it's actually because Zane is good at his job. He can take care of injured agents. . . such as yourself, but he's also the best person we have to teach the basics to the new recruits.".

"Person isn't necessarily the term _I_ would use," Garmadon muttered. He squeezed his eyes shut again as Zane tugged at his shoulder. The sensation was apparent and then there was the gentle cling of metal against metal. The aging man opened his eyes and sneaked a glance off to his right. Zane had dropped the bullet that had been embedded in Garmadon's shoulder into a shallow, metal pail. Rolling his shoulder, Garmadon could feel the immediate relief. Sure, it was still a little painful, but nothing like it had been. "Thank you," he said, his tone laced with begrudging gratitude.

"I am not done yet," Zane replied. "I still have to patch up the wound to ensure that it does not get infected."

Inhaling deeply, Garmadon stayed still, allowing Zane to gently wrap his shoulder and upper arm in bandages and gauze. "You know. . . I don't appreciate it when people eavesdrop, especially if they're very bad at it." His gaze settled upon the open doorway of the room. "You might as well come inside, I already know you're out there."

Jay popped his head around the door frame, his blue eyes wide with both fear and admiration, before he quickly concealed himself again. "But. . . uh. . . there's no one here though," he shouted once he was out of sight.

There was a loud sigh and Cole entered the room, half dragging Jay in behind him. Kai brought up the rear of the group, a smirk playing on his lips and sending a small wave of rage crashing down upon Garmadon. "I know exactly what you're thinking, boy," the injured man said sternly. "I'd appreciate it if you kept her mouth shut and your emotions in check."

"Whatever you say, old man," the mechanic chuckled, feeling his smile only grow.

"So. . . these people that we're suppose to help you guys take down are inhuman?" Jay asked, tugging his shirt away from Cole's grip and straightening himself. "Because, I'm all for trying to rescue this kid of yours, but I'm not so sure we'll be able to do it against people that aren't. . . people."

Wu crossed the room, standing next to his new recruits and frowning. "The road will be a bumpy one, but I am positive that you three will be able to accomplish what we cannot. I didn't choose you at random. I knew what I was doing."

"Why don't you just send Zane out to get the kid?" Cole asked, his grey eyes settling on the oddly proper agent. "He was telling us that he's been in this line of business for as long as he can remember. And, if he's the one that you have teach the basics to all of the new agents, then shouldn't he be working out in the field too?"

"He cannot do it by himself," Sensei explained, watching as Zane finished his job. "But you know, Cole, you do make a good argument. Perhaps it would be best if Zane joined you in this mission."

"For the love of. . ." Garmadon facepalmed, growling.

"But I have never been allowed to set foot outside of N.I.N.J.A.G.O before," Zane replied, causing Kai, Cole and Jay to exchange glances. "Would it really be the wisest decision?"

"No, no it would not," Garmadon stated, rising to his feet. "Wu, this is madness. They won't get far. Misako will destroy each and everyone of them. There's got to be someone else."

"There is no one else, brother." Wu placed his hand upon Jay's shoulder. "Misako knows everyone, and she will stop them as easily as she stopped you. But these guys. . . they are different. New. And they have great potential. We just have to harness it."

Jay nodded enthusiastically.

"Now, since you are all so intent on being awake, we might as well start your training."

"Now?" Cole and Kai growled, rubbing their eyes.

"Indeed," Wu chuckled to himself, enjoying the excitement glowing in Jay's eyes. "But first, we must get you some weapons, don't you agree?"

" _Weapons_? You're giving them _weapons_?" Garmadon hissed, shaking his head. "They're rookies. They're going to get us all killed. You can't give them _weapons_."

"Of course I can, brother." The old man stepped towards the door, a mischievous smile lighting up his features. "After all, there is no better teacher than experience itself."


	7. Weapons Room

Chapter Seven: Weapons Room

"What kind of weapons are they? Are they, like, laser guns? Arm cannons?" Jay babbled an endless stream of fantastical and unlikely weapons, following closely behind Wu. The old man continued to walk, ignoring every question. "Will they be ours to keep? Like, at all times? I'd love to take one back to my job. There's a couple of customers that. . . oh _man_. . ."

"This is your job now, Jay," the old man finally answered, although he did not pause to look back at his recruits."You can forget about SonicSubs. We have already contacted them to say you have quit."

Jay opened and closed his mouth, slowly coming to understand the man's words. As he struggled in silence, Kai stepped forward, his own question burning on his lips. "What about my sister? Did you tell her anything?"

"Of course," Wu answered. "We told her it might be a while before she hears from you. You understand she cannot know too much, for her own safety."

"Yeah, yeah." Kai nodded, running his hand back through his hair. "Oh man, she's going to be worried sick."

"Wait, wait, you've got a sister?" Jay leaned against the mechanic's shoulder, smirking. "Is she hot?"

Kai growled, pushing Jay to the side. The young, blue-eyed man chuckled, raising his hands in defense. "I'm just playing. Calm down, hot-head."

"I will when you shut up, zap-trap," Kai snapped back.

Cole stepped in between the two, pushing them aside as he walked closer to the old man. "Will you two stop bickering at each other? If we can't even walk from one place to the other without calling each other names, how will we ever work as a team?" At Cole's words Kai rolled his eyes, and Jay shrugged.

Sighing, Cole decided that it was just best to keep quiet for now. He was still trying to get a feel for the others' personalities, but it was starting to become apparent that they were all going to have to have a lot of patience in order to work together successfully. This wasn't just about them collectively deciding that it was a good idea to try and do something different with their lives. He sneaked a glance at Wu's back while they continued walking down the seemingly endless corridors. The old man said they all had great potential. So it wasn't an accident that they were all here now, but deep down inside, Cole was beginning to doubt himself. It was one thing, succeeding or failing in this new line of work on his own terms. But there was much more at stake.

A boy's life was on the line. Were they going to be able to tackle a job like this?

There was an audible grunt from behind, and the recruits simultaneously turned to see Garmadon trailing behind them. His face was plastered with an unflattering scowl, but his gait was strong and steady. Kai narrowed his eyes before turning around. "Why's the geezer stalking us?" he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Watch your tongue, boy," Garmadon called out, his voice echoing off of the walls. He hadn't exactly heard what Kai had said, but he'd analyzed the kid's body language enough to know he'd said _something_. And by the way Kai faltered in his next few steps, Garmadon knew he had guessed correctly.

Wu stopped in front of a door, holding his hand out to a pad that lay just off to his right. A red light sprung to life, scanning the man's hand, before the doors finally parted. "Welcome to the weapon's room," Wu announced, gesturing for his new recruits to follow him inside.

Jay stared at the walls all around him, spinning around slowly in a circle, trying to take it all in. There was everything he could have ever imagined. Guns upon guns of all shapes and sizes were stocked as high and as far as his blue eyes could see. Mixed in with the modern weaponry were some old school weapons like swords and staffs. Jay gave a chuckle. Who would use stuff like _that_ when there were guns or lasers or pens that could shoot out poison darts or. . .

He ran right into Zane's back. The impact sent Jay stumbling backwards into Cole. The nature guide steadied his auburn haired colleague before focusing on Wu.

"There are a few rules that I need to discuss before I give you the weapons I think would. . . suit you each specifically," the old man said, clasping his hands behind his back. "First, you will not rely too heavily on your weapons. They are merely tools to be utilized when you're in need of them, an extension of yourself and your abilities. Zane will teach you how to fight _and_ how to use your weapons, but if you rely too heavily on them, they will act as nothing more than a crutch."

"Second, you will not be permitted to practice with your weapons on each other unless you're being supervised by Zane." This elicited groans from everyone, but Wu ignored them. "Finally, please try to be careful with your weapons. They're expensive and N.I.N.J.A.G.O isn't made of money."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jay nodded. "We get it. We do. Now can we see the goods?"

A small smile played on the old man's lips, as he stepped back, hitting a section of the wall with his staff. Soon after the impact, the wall slid open, revealing not three, but four intricate weapons. Zane raised his eyebrows in surprise, not quite believing that he would really be treated as part of the team. Catching Zane's look of surprise, Wu placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Each weapon was especially crafted for each of you, depending on your talents and personality." Kai opened his mouth to question the man's words, but Wu continued. "And before you ask _how_ we know these things, I'll remind you that you're talking to the leader of N.I.N.J.A.G.O."

Kai scowled, but he couldn't keep the glint of curiosity from his eyes.

After reaching for a heavy looking scythe, Wu handed the weapon to Cole, who didn't tremble at its weight. His eyebrows shot up into his thick hair, and his eyes studied the weapon itself. "As you can probably tell, Cole, this is no ordinary scythe."

The back of the scythe was made of stone, and Wu ran his fingers across the material. "The back of it is not made from ordinary stone. This rock can break through anything, and it is absolutely indestructible. The scythe itself is razor sharp, so treat it with care. Now. . . there's another little trick. Why don't you try swinging it, Cole?"

The other three quickly stepped back, not wanting to be sliced in half. After one last look at the old man to assure he hadn't been joking, Cole swung the scythe from left to right, and a cloud of smoke cloaked him. For a couple of seconds, his body was invisible through the dark cloud. The rock-climber half smiled, holding up the scythe closer to his eyes. "Nice."

"Of course," Wu nodded, turning to reach for the next weapon.

"Pick mine! Pick mine!" Jay bounced on his toes, his blue eyes glowing with excitement. Kai rolled his eyes, sighing in annoyance. "C'mon!"

Wu chuckled, reaching for what looked like a silver staff. A chain was wrapped around the center of it, keeping the two parts of the staff held together. The old man handed the weapon to Jay, who took it eagerly. "There's not much to say about your weapon. It's a simple staff, which can break away into a pair of nunchucks. Due to your uncontrollable energy, we weren't sure what sort of weapon we could put in your hands without putting your own life in danger."

Kai and Cole broke into a fit of laughter, and Jay looked down, biting his lip. "It's um. . . It's still pretty cool. I could. . . whack bad guys?"

Wu chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Oh and there's also this little thing. . ." Reaching forward, the old man flicked a small switch resting upon Jay's weapon. The weapon began to glow blue, and electric sparks shot out from both ends of the staff. Cole and Kai jumped back, and the blue-eyed man smiled widely. "Too cool!"

"Great," Kai muttered under his breath. "He might not _kill_ us all, but he's definitely gonna find a way to _hurt_ us all with that thing." He took a larger step backwards, dragging Cole with him, as Jay separated the staff and began swinging above his head like a helicopter rotor.

The sparks fired wildly, shimmering in the air. Jay gave a small smirk and tried to flip the weapon over his shoulders and around his back before slapping himself with it. He jumped as the electricity quickly coursed through his body, leaving his hair standing slightly on end. Cole pinched the bridge of his nose and Kai rolled his eyes. "Haha, it's _shocking_ how much practice I'm gonna need," he giggled, flipping the switch that he watched Wu use, turning the electrical current off.

Wu inhaled deeply before turning back to the remaining two weapons in the wall. He grabbed a small, metal case with both hands and turned towards Kai. "This is for you," he said slowly, resting the case in his arms and pressing two buttons along the edge. The top of the case sprung open, revealing two gloves resting within.

Kai raised a notched eyebrow and reached out for the gloves. They were a lot simpler than he was hoping for. Black in color, the material they were made from was think but comfortable. He slipped them onto his hands and stared at the palms. They were lined in a thin silver alloy, concentrated mostly on his palms and fingertips. "So, uh, do I get to climb walls with these or something?" He wasn't exactly blown away by the fact that all he got were gloves. Even _Jay_ had an _actual_ weapon.

"Looks can be deceiving," Wu answered, closing the case in his hands and setting it down on the floor. "But just because something looks different than what you expected, doesn't mean that it isn't just as effective." His eyes traveled to meet his brother's as he finished, but Garmadon just crossed his arms over his chest. "Kai, try rubbing your hands together."

With doubt plaguing his mind and uncertainty written across his face, the mechanic brought his hands together and quickly rubbed them against each other. A sudden spark flew into the air and Kai pulled his hands apart as flames sprouted from the metal alloy. His light brown eyes widened in wonder as he stared at the fire he now possessed. "Whoa. . ."

"The rough metal on your gloves is mined from an undisclosed area in Ninjago. The properties allow the flames themselves to be manipulated. You can condense it merely by working it into a ball and tossing it," Wu smirked, holding his hands behind his back. "Simply clap your hands together to put out the flames. The actual material of your gloves is flame retardant, so it will be easy to maintain."

"At least no one'll need to stop, drop, and roll," Cole laughed.

Kai clapped his hands together and watched the once steady flames disappear entirely. He wouldn't admit it, but the gloves were actually a lot cooler than he had originally thought. "I'll take out a lot of bad guys with these," he smirked. "No one's gonna wanna mess with fire."

"And, now, for you, Zane," Wu smiled, bringing the final weapon out into the open. It was intricate yet sleek and by the way Zane looked at it, the others knew that it was something important. One end of the weapon was hollow and Wu took Zane's right arm, sliding the hollow end of the weapon onto it. "I think you may already have an idea of what this is," the old man continued, twisting the weapon slightly. A loud click resounded throughout the room.

His breath caught for a moment and Zane nodded. "A portable cannon," he answered. Within the confines of the cannon, Zane felt a handle that he gripped tightly before flexing his wrist forward. The end of the weapon that faced Wu dropped open, revealing a small pit.

"The cannon has been engineered to tap into your own electrical systems for power," Wu explained. "That's why you must make sure that it's set firmly on your arm before you use it. That clicking sound means it's mounted properly. But, this is a special cannon. A prototype, if you will. It has vents along the outside that intake the air around it, super freezing the water molecules and compacting them into projectiles."

Zane blinked and concentrated, raising the cannon towards the ceiling. A large chunk of ice erupted from the weapon, ricocheting off of the ceiling and falling back down to the ground where it shattered on impact. "So, it is an ice cannon," the agent noted, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa_ ," Jay stuttered. "Did you say Zane's weapon was engineered to tap into his. . . electrical systems?"


	8. Eyes and Ears

Chapter Eight: Eyes and Ears

"Of course," Zane answered. "I imagine it would be easier, as the weapon would never fail me if it was directly connected with-"

Jay pressed his hand against Zane's lips, turning to face the old man. "What exactly do you mean, _electrical systems_?"

Cole raised one of his eyebrows, and Kai looked at the man, burning with curiosity. Garmadon rolled his eyes, stepping up and answering for his brother. "What do you expect it to mean? Zane is nothing more than an human-like robot we use to train new recruits."

"Robot," Jay echoed, moving his hand away from Zane's mouth. His blue eyes were wide, mouth hanging open in amazement. "You're a _robot_!? That's, that's amazing!"

"Wait a minute," Cole said, his eyes switching back and forth between the old man and the robot. "If you've got a robot. . . then why would you need us? I mean, I'm sure _he_ can do things much better than _we_ can."

"I am sure he can too," Wu responded, and Garmadon couldn't help but chuckle softly. "But even his skills alone would not be enough to rescue Lloyd. Misako is strong, and her allies are even stronger. The only way this will work, is through teamwork."

"Hate to burst your bubble there." Kai broke away from admiring his gloves, his eyes running through each of the people in the room, finally stopping at Wu's own. "But we're nowhere near a team."

"Not yet," Wu smirked. "Now, since you are all so intent on staying awake, I supposed our first 'team building' activity is in order, no?"

"No," Garmadon answered, turning away from the group of misfits and heading towards the door. "It's time for _your_ first team building activity. I will have no part in this train wreck. I'm going to figure out another way to get Lloyd back on my own. I just need a little bit more time."

Kai felt his lips pull into sneer. "Time isn't something you've got much of, grandpa." Garmadon stopped in his tracks, the silence of the room now ringing in his ears. "You got yourself hurt the last time you tried to do something, so it obviously went great. Your brother keeps telling you that we're your best bet for getting your son back. We might not look like much now, but he obviously sees something in us that you can't. But maybe you _should_."

Garmadon felt his muscles tighten, but he kept his gaze locked on the door. "Well you can't expect me to see what isn't there." With that, Garmadon approached the door to the weapon's room. It opened without hesitation and shut automatically once he had crossed the threshold, leaving the rest of the group just staring at one another.

Cole placed a hand on Kai's shoulder, noticing how forlorn he looked. "Hey, that was pretty gutsy of you," he said, a small smile on his face. Maybe, just maybe, they could be a team with a little bit of time and work. Cole could see it now. He didn't know how long it would take, but he was already feeling closer to the strangers he had met not so long ago. "We'll start with this team building stuff and move on from there."

Wu led them into yet another room, except this one was far smaller than the one before. Every inch of all four walls was covered in some sort of screen, each flashing their own unique images. In the center of it all was a man, his grey and white hair was slicked back, and a small goatee rested upon his chin. The man didn't turn around to face the others, speaking while still facing the screens before him.

"I suppose you're going to need me to explain the challenge to the new recruits?" the man said. "Personally, Wu, I don't see why I should waste my time here. There's other, more important things I should be keeping my eyes on."

"Just get them set up, Neuro, and I'm sure they'll be able to figure out the rest on their own." Wu stepped forward, nodding his head towards the man on the chair. "This is Neuro. He is the eyes and ears of N.I.N.J.A.G.O. It was through him that we found each of you, and it is thanks to him that we have all the information we do."

The man swiveled around, now facing the new recruits. "Well, I hardly have anything else to say, since Wu was kind enough to introduce me."

"I'm-" Jay began to say, holding out his hand, but Neuro was quick to interrupt him.

"You're Jay. Former worker at SonicSubs. Aspiring to be an inventor, although it's more of a fantasy than a reality. Grew up in a junk yard, with your parents, Ed and Edna Walker." Jay's face turned the brightest shade of red, and he let his hand drop by his side. Neuro raised an eyebrow. "As you can see, I know you guys better than you'd think. There really isn't any need for introductions."

"Yeah, no kidding." Cole's eyes were glued upon those of the strange man, and an uncomfortable wave of goosebumps traveled up his arms. Sure, N.I.N.J.A.G.O was a spy agency, and Cole supposed that it was their job to know everything there was to know about those they recruited. Either way, the knowledge Neuro had just spilled so nonchalantly was extremely disturbing.

"So what are we throwing at _these_ recruits?" the man questioned, his eyes moving from one recruit to the other. "Impossible climb? Underwater challenge? A trek through the jungle?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of sending them undercover," Sensei Wu said. "I think we do owe Pythor a visit."

" _Pythor_?" Neuro's eyebrows arched upward in suprise. "Pythor. You want to send fresh meat to investigate _Pythor_?"

"Why not? We received an alert about his actions not too long ago, and it would be the perfect opportunity for us to figure out where he hid the weapon."

Jay and Cole exchanged glances, while Kai stepped forward. "Can you please, for once, be clear with us? What weapon? Who's Pythor? And why does _he_ know so much?"


	9. Down the Drain

**Kiwi here. Due to me being dumb and always seeming to fall into awful bouts of writer's block, this story is going to be updated every other week until further notice. Should have made that announcement a few weeks ago, but I forgot. So yeah.**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Down the Drain

"What exactly do you expect 'eyes and ears of N.I.N.J.A.G.O' to mean?" Neuro shook his head. "It's my job to know everything. From the city's crime spree, to your awful job as a mechanic."

Kai's face flushed a bright shade of red and he said no more. This time, it was Cole who spoke up. "So that answers one question. What about the others?"

Neuro swiveled his chair towards Cole, resting his arms upon his desk and leaning forward. "Pythor is the leader of one of Ninjago's most prominent gangs. He leads a group of thugs and thieves that like to call themselves 'Serpentine'."

Without any apparent movement on Neuro's part, the screen behind him changed, flickering through a series of images. It showed pictures of different people, which all had one thing in common: a purple bandanna wrapped around each of their necks, with an ouroboros imprinted upon the fabric. The rapid slideshow finally stopped on a picture of a man with shining black hair and bright purple eyes. One side of his mouth was curled up into a dangerous smirk.

"And _this_ is Pythor," Neuro continued, without turning to face the screen. "He is the leader. He hasn't been too much trouble in the past, causing just enough petty crime to keep things balanced. But this time he stepped way out of his league."

Once again, the images changed. This time a small capsule glowing with a green liquid took up the screen. "We have recently discovered that Pythor has had his eyes on this, a biochemical weapon worth millions. Once released, it can easily become an airborne virus, infecting everything and everyone in a thousand mile radius within hours. We don't exactly know if he's planning to sell it, or use it himself once he has his hands on it, but we are not willing to take any risks."

"So you want _us_ ," Jay said, laughing nervously, " a mechanic, a rock climber, a fast food worker and a. . . a robot to go up against _him_?"

"That's the plan, yes," Wu nodded. "It'd be a perfectly well balanced training exercise."

"I think I'm gonna faint," Jay shut his eyes, stumbling back against Cole. "Why was I excited about this again?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Cole said, pushing Jay back on to his feet. "This Pythor guy doesn't sound like a gang leader at all." His grey eyes drifted up towards the screen once more, nervously fixated on the biochemical weapon in question. If these guys were suppose to protect Ninjago, then why'd they allow Pythor to get his hands on something so dangerous in the first place? Pushing blame to the back of his mind, Cole tried to focus on the situation at hand instead. "He sounds like a terrorist. You want us to take down this guy before he decides what exactly he wants to use that stuff for?"

Neuro rested his head in one of his hands, tracing shapes in the nonexistent dust on his desk with the other. "Call Pythor what you wish, but that's _exactly_ what you're going to do." His eyes flicked upwards, resting on Wu now. "This could end in disaster. You're aware of that, yes?" Wu only nodded in response, prompting Neuro to exhale loudly. "Then who am I to argue with you."

"Can we know what this. . . this possible virus is capable of before we throw ourselves in harm's way?" Kai interjected, finally finding his voice after what felt like an eternity. He'd been thinking about Nya the entire time everyone else had been talking. Not only did she think that he'd just disappeared for a while, but he didn't want to think about what would happen to her if a deadly weapon was detonated across Ninjago, and it was all his fault. "It doesn't sound like we have much of a choice when it comes to this 'team building' exercise, but I'd kinda like to know what I'm working with." _So if all of Ninjago gets infected, at least I'll know how much longer I have to live_ , his thoughts finished morbidly.

Neuro raised an eyebrow, studying Kai. Then he nodded towards Jay, a small smirk playing on his lips. "You sure you want to know? Your buddy here may not be able to handle it."

"I'm just _fine_ ," Jay muttered, although his skin had grown pale. "Let's just. . . get on with it. I can handle it."

"If you say so," Neuro shrugged nonchalantly. Kai bit his lip, narrowing his eyes at the man. It angered him slightly to see how calmly Neuro was taking everything. Lives were a stake, and he was talking about this all as if he could care less about Ninjago. "Once the virus sets in your body, you'll have more or less an hour to live. Everything in your body will begin to shut down until, _pop,_ your heart gives out."

"That's . . . great." Jay forced a chuckle, leaning back against the wall. "Okay! Well. Now that we've got all we need, how about we start with this. . . this thing then?"

"That's exactly what I've been waiting to hear!" Wu clapped his hands, a big smile growing on his face. "Now that we've got this settled, and you've got your weapons, all we really need is a change of clothes!"

"A. . . what?" Cole, Jay and Kai asked in unison.

* * *

"You know, I actually feel kinda cool," Jay smirked, tugging on a blue beanie. His weapon was strapped to his leg, where it was perfectly invisible. "We're _thugs_ now. Too cool."

"Well at least _you_ guys will have your weapons." Cole hissed, straightening out his costume. The scythe had been far too big to hide anywhere, and Cole had been forced to leave it behind. Pythor was smart, and there was no doubt he would recognize N.I.N.J.A.G.O weaponry.

Kai ran his gloved hands through his hair, trying to make everything look a little more disheveled. Thugs didn't necessarily care about their hair, right? He hadn't used nearly as much gel as he normally did, but Kai was hoping that he still looked just as fetching regardless. "Don't be so jealous," he said, smirking lightly as he adjusted the hood on his red sweatshirt. "Look at yourself, Cole. You could probably beat up most of the punks that we're gonna run into anyway."

"Yeah," Jay chimed in, unable to wipe the grin off of his face. This was so exciting now that it was actually happening! They were going to infiltrate Pythor's gang hideout without him even noticing! Jay felt a sheen of sweat break out underneath his beanie as he continued to walk. He'd almost forgotten about the virus, the whole reason for this training exercise. People's lives were on the line. He swallowed hard, trying to return his thoughts back to the conversation at hand. "Zane didn't bring his weapon with him either. A guy walking around with a big cannon on his arm would draw a lot of attention, weirdo."

Holding his arm out in front of him, Zane signaled for everyone to stop walking. The others froze immediately, their eyes drifting up to the android. "Jay is correct," he answered, keeping his voice low. "The technology used in my weapon is nothing I am unfamiliar with. I already have the knowledge to use it properly, though I will still practice with all of you once we are back at headquarters." He gestured down an alleyway where the steam from the sewer system slowly curled upwards into the air. "The hideout is down this way, please stay close."

"Are we going to sneak inside or just go inside and blend in?" Cole asked, worming his way in between Kai and Jay. If he couldn't bring a weapon, he would make sure he was between the two people that could. "Don't things like this usually have secret passwords that you have to know to get in?"

"Pffff, please," Jay chuckled. "Even _I_ know that stuff like that is only in movies. Don't be a worry wart."

"Jay, I don't know if you've thought about this, but Pythor can _kill_ us. We are literally strolling into the lion's den," Cole muttered, shooting a glare towards the blue eyed man. "So, yes, I _am_ going to worry."

"I _am_ going to worry." Jay mimicked Cole's voice, snickering to himself before the rock-climber smacked him upside the head. " _Ow!_ "

Kai rolled his eyes, following Zane closely. Although he wasn't about to admit it, the former mechanic had plenty of worries under his belt. He felt as if every part of him screamed impostor, and Pythor would be able to spot his facade of lies in less than a second. "How _are_ we going to get in?"

"Simple," Zane said, as he stopped walking. He reached down to move aside the sewer lid, revealing a dark and stinky passage to the city's underground. "We use the main entrance."

Kai pinched his nose, his eyes watering from the sudden stink. Jay and Cole stopped bickering long enough to look at Zane, then down at the open passage to the sewer. Zane stood, looking at his new comrades, waiting for them to proceed.

"Uh," Jay raised an eyebrow, looking at Zane's neutral expression. "Robots first?"


	10. Brawl

Chapter Ten: Brawl

The smell really wasn't as bad as Kai had expected.

He wasn't going to lie. There was definitely a persistent stink around him, but it wasn't something he couldn't bear. While he worked at the autoshop, there had been plenty of uncomfortable smells lingering here and there. Jay, on the other hand, was a whole different story.

"We're going to die," he coughed, covering his mouth. Both of his eyes were watering, making it look as if he had been shedding more than a couple of tears. "This is probably the toxic weapon they were talking about. Yup. Our insides are melting, and we're melting, and we're dead."

"We are _not_ dead," Cole sighed, rubbing his forehead and following Zane closely. He shot a look back at Jay, and shook his head. "This isn't the toxic gas. They wouldn't spread it all over their own hideout. Now, can you at least try to act like a thug? You already don't look the part. Don't make it worse by acting like a baby too."

Jay scoffed, raising his eyebrows. He opened and closed his mouth multiple times before finally coming up with words. "Oh, no you didn't."

"Oh yes, I did." Cole rolled his eyes.

"Will you two quit bickering?" Kai stepped past Jay and Cole, walking beside Zane. They were approaching a door, where lights and voices were emanating from. "I hear something."

"That should be the entrance. If my senses serve me right, which they always do, Pythor is delivering quite a speech." Slowly, Zane pushed the door open, leading the others into a big room. Every inch of it was crowded with people dressed more or less like them, but with no regard for personal hygiene.

"-And the city will finally be in our control!" The man known as Pythor paced in front of the crowd, his voice booming throughout every inch of the room. "But it will, of course, not be very safe to attempt to retrieve this toxin. I have arranged an exchange that will take place in two days. More likely than not, those who seek to stop me will be there. I am, of course, expecting those N.I.N.J.A.G.O imbeciles to try and stop me. But this will be different, I can assure you!"

Cheers erupted around the room. Kai shook his head, a half smile on his face. "If only he knew."

"I will allow four people to accompany me," he continued. Whispers and smirks were shared all throughout. "But they will be only the best of the best. . ."

There was a sudden silence. Everyone collectively held their breath, waiting to see what they'd have to do to prove themselves to be the best. Pythor allowed a sly smile to curve his lips upward, elongating the pause between his words.

"They will be those who claim victory. . ." Once again, he paused, before finally shouting his final sentence. "In the Slither Pit!"

Cheers and shouts erupted from the crowd gathered around Pythor. The leader gave a large grin, holding his arms out to his sides and basking in the attention that his followers were giving him. It felt amazing to be on top, to have a group of underlings that practically worshipped him. Pythor thrived on the attention, the rush that being in control seemed to give him.

"Slither Pit?" Jay whispered. He had plastered a large grin on his face, faking excitement, when deep down he was beginning to feel more anxious. "That doesn't sound like a fun, villain bonding activity."

Kai flexed his hands, feeling the thick material of his gloves trying to move in time with his actions. They still needed to be broken in a little more. He hoped they wouldn't always feel so stiff and limiting. The last thing Kai wanted was to be caught off guard when his weapon wasn't responding to him properly. "Whatever it is, it sounds like we're gonna have to take part in it if we want to be at this meeting with Pythor. Besides, I think we're all capable of doing well enough in this Slither Pit to be the four victors."

"Well that's easy for you to say," Cole replied, his arms crossed over his chest. "You have a weapon, Kai. It's probably gonna be a fight. I doubt they're talking about winning a Rock, Paper, Clamp tournament."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Well then, Kai and I will win whatever it is we have to win and foil Pythor's plans." He reached down and patted his leg, feeling his weapon still securely in place. "That way you won't have to worry about anything."

"I am capable of combat without the use of weapons," Zane said, staring at Jay. The former fast food worker waited for him to finish up his statement, but nothing else came.

"Well, that's great then," Kai said, eyes flicking around the room. "It'll be the three of us against Pythor and whoever else wins the Slither Pit."

Cole frowned. Some team building exercise this was turning out to be. Without his weapon, Cole felt like an outsider, a burden. How was he suppose to try and work with his teammates if they ended up going further undercover and he was stuck here in the Serpentine hideout? His father's voice came back to him. Why hadn't he pursued a stable lifestyle? Being a nature guide was rocky enough, no pun intended, but being a spy was turning out to be more difficult and uncertain than Cole could have imagined. Would he really end up being left behind by everyone?

There was a hand squeezing his arm and Cole looked up, shaking himself out of his thoughts. It was Zane, his expression stoic, but the strength of his grip betraying his emotions. Was he. . . nervous? Cole stumbled, finally realizing that he was moving. Or, rather, he was being shoved, along with Zane. The endless ocean of gang members had swept them up as they moved across the hideout. Cole glanced back, trying to find Kai and Jay in the mess, but he'd lost sight of them. His stomach tightened as he nearly tripped again. What were they going to do _now_?

Struggling to find the others and stay on his feet, Cole followed the massive crowd. They all began to gather around a large, empty metal cage. Ignoring the strange object at the center of the room, the rock climber pushed thugs aside, his eyes shifting. Cole didn't notice how close he was getting to the cage, until Pythor's voice boomed right by his ear.

"Now that we're all gathered here," the leader said, once again tugging on the attention of all his followers. "Can we have some volunteers please? Don't be shy."

One of the men stepped into the cage. He had short, spiky red hair, and sharp canines that glinted in the light each time he spoke. The man seemed to be holding a conversation with himself, as if there were two minds stuck inside the single body. "Ah, looks like Fangtom has decided to step forward. Is it just you today, or is your friend-"

"Both," the man said in a deep voice, then continued in a voice that was much higher. "We shall need both to rip apart any opponent."

"Well, you heard him folks!" Pythor laughed. "Who will step forward and take him, them, on?"

Cole chuckled to himself, feeling sorry for whoever would be forced to take the crazy man on. It truly seemed like he believed there were two different people inside his head. Shaking his head at the strange turn his life had taken, the black haired man forgot to look where he was going.

With one more step, Cole stepped upon a stranger's foot. "Watch where you step!"

"S-" Cole's apology never got very far, as the man shoved him forward roughly, forcing the spy in training through the crowd of people. . .

. . . And straight through the cage's open door.

He quickly jumped to his feet, grey eyes widening as he realized where'd he landed. Cole swiveled around, heading straight for the door. With a smirk, the guy who'd shoved him in pulled the door shut. The lock clicked, and Cole's stomach dropped.

The crowd roared and as Cole slowly backed away from the door, he caught Pythor's eye. The man seemed to look through him, practically ignoring his presence entirely. Cole felt lucky, for now. Pythor knew his opponent by name. Did Pythor know every single one of the people that followed him? If so, Cole was in a bad position. It would only be a matter of time before he was called out. As he continued to look out over the vast crowd, Cole saw Zane. The android seemed to be a little taller than most of the other people around him. He gave Cole a single nod before vanishing among the thugs.

Sharp pain raked across Cole's back. He gasped, falling to a knee from pure shock. What happened? As he slowly rose and turned around, he saw his opponent smirking at him. Brass knuckles adorned the man's hands, embellished with small, ivory spikes. "Do you really think you can defeat us?" the man taunted, almost inaudible over the cheering and chanting of the crowd. "We've been fighting for years," he continued in his higher pitch, "and you don't even look like you've ever brawled in your life."

Cole narrowed his eyes, the warm pain in his back dulling from the sudden adrenaline coursing through him. He could see his blood on one of his opponent's weapons, but tried to ignore it. Climbing mountains, always moving, and having to take care of himself had made Cole strong. Not only physically, but mentally. He was resilient, and he wasn't going to let the lack of a special scythe stop him from winning a fight. "Maybe not," he responded, gluing his grey eyes on to Fangtom's chest. "But I'm still gonna take you down."


	11. Nothing Goes Wrong

Chapter Eleven: Nothing Goes Wrong

With confidence, or perhaps simple idiocy, fueling him forward, Cole attacked the man before him. Using the element of surprise, the rock climber was able to make the man tumble against the ground. Cole smirked, waving as the crowd cheered. Soon enough, Cole's opponent was back on his feet, eyes glowing with fury.

"Watching fresh blood look so confident is always pleasant." The man swung his fist at Cole, who was barely able to stop the attack. "Tearing you apart will make us very, _very_ , happy."

"Underestimating your opponent is a really dangerous thing to do," Cole snapped back, kicking Fangtom's side. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

"And _you_ don't know what _we_ are capable of." The kick hadn't affected Fangtom as much as Cole had expected. The man smiled crookedly, enjoying the surprise in Cole's grey eyes. In a moment, Fangtom swung both of his fists at Cole's sides. The rock climber did his best to dodge the attack, but the sharp ivory spikes had clawed at Cole's skin, creating two equally shaped wounds.

It wasn't anything he hadn't encountered before. Rock climbing didn't come without its consequences. More than once, Cole had found himself injured, miles away from any sort of help. But he'd gotten through it. He'd always gotten through it. It took a lot more than a couple of scratches to take down solid rock.

Trying to ignore the pain as best as he could, Cole swung a punch at Fangtom's head. The man's body was thrown to the side, the other side of his head pummeling against the metal bars of the cage. While he was still dazed, Cole kicked the man square in the chest. Out of breath, Fangtom fell to his knees. Cole walked closer, towering above him with a smile.

"You can't defeat us," Fangtom shook his head, fighting the urge to faint. "We are, and will always be, winners."

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Cole crossed his arms. "But there's a first time for everything."

"Maybe," Fangtom crumpled against the floor of the cage, his body beginning to lose its stiffness. "Maybe there is. But we will not go down alone."

There was no time for Cole to react. Fangtom's right arm moved forward, shoving the four sharp spikes into the side of Cole's leg. The crowd roared. Cole stepped back, kicking Fangtom off while trying to keep his balance. Cole's enemy lay still, his eyes shuddering to a close. With everyone watching and the world blurring in and out of his vision, Cole began to limp towards the door.

"Well. . . it appears we have a winner." Pythor finally moved his attention towards the fight as the crowd continued to shout in excitement. "Though, I must admit. . . I feel like I haven't quite met you before."

Cole nearly froze, his eyes drifting up to meet Pythor's. The man stared down at him, scrutinizing him. Did Pythor know that he was from N.I.N.J.A.G.O? Had he blown his cover simply by trying to win the fight? "I just have one of those faces," the rock climber lied, trying to keep his tone as nonchalant as possible. If he acted like he belonged, maybe Pythor would think he belonged. "I blend in with the crowd. People always mistake me for others." He rubbed his injured arm, trying to distract himself from what was happening.

"I'm pretty familiar with the members of _my_ gang," Pythor continued, raising an eyebrow. He took a step closer, forcing Cole back into the cage a little farther.

He was trying not to panic. Spies didn't panic. He'd seen the movies before. They were suave and confident. Of course, those were just movies. This was real, and Cole knew that failure could have serious consequences. He was going to protest again, try to reiterate what he had just told Pythor, but he was beginning to feel like the gang leader could see right through him.

"It was just like the last time he won the Slither Pit!"

Cole felt his eyes widen and he turned towards the sound of the voice, seeing a flash of blue making its way through the crowd. Other thugs were mumbling now, nodding in response.

"Yeah! He's the toughest of the tough! One time he beat _me_ in a fight too!"

This time the voice came from the other side of the crowd. Cole was straining to see, but it almost sounded like it had been Kai. They were trying to help him, trying to cover for him. And by the looks of acceptance and approval on most of the thugs' faces, it was actually working. They started laughing and cheering. "I know him!" came an unfamiliar voice.

"He's a friend of my cousin's!" someone else called out.

Pythor turned his gaze back to Cole and stepped aside, giving the rock climber ample room to exit the caged area. "It appears I was mistaken," he said slowly, running a hand through his brilliantly purple hair. "Everyone else here seems to know you. And I look forward to working closer with you after the final Slither Pit."

Cole limped out the door, trying to keep his head high. Once he was out of the cage, however, he crumpled. Zane and Jay rushed to help him, holding the rock-climber up by his armpits. Kai snaked his way back through the crowd, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you won, and I can't believe _that_ worked."

"Mob psychology is effective more often than not," Zane stated, nodding his head. "Although it might not work again. It seems to me that Pythor is rather suspicious. It might not be the best idea for us to continue to fight in the Slither Pit. He is bound to notice something isn't quite right."

"Well, Cole's already won," Jay pointed out. "We only need one of us to go, right?"

"You want me to go, risk my life, alone in _this_ condition!?" Cole hissed. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm kinda bleeding out here. I'm not in the best position to take care of myself."

Another wave of cheers erupted as two more thugs found their way into the Slither Pit. Jay stuck his tongue out at Cole, crossing his arms and letting go of the rock climber. "Well we can't trick the guy _three_ more times. We got lucky with this one. If any one of us goes back in there, we'll all be dead."

"Hate to admit it," Kai said, shaking his head. "But Jay's right. You'll have to be on your own Cole."

"Brilliant," Cole grimaced, trying to ignore the pain pulsing from his leg. "Can we at _least_ get something for my leg?"

"Of course." Zane pushed past the over-excited gang members, guiding himself and the others out of the mob of people. "I can also equip you with a tracker, so Kai, Jay, and I can follow close behind when you go with Pythor."

"I guess. It'll have to do, huh?" Cole shook his head, staying as still as possible while Zane wrapped a white bandage around his leg. "Let's hope nothing goes wrong."

"Don't say that," Jay muttered. "Things _always_ go wrong when someone says that."

Cole sighed. Jay was right, _again_. Things always seemed to go wrong when people hoped they wouldn't. If worse came to worse, hundreds of thousands of people would die if Pythor successfully completed whatever he was planning. "How do you propose I get the virus stuff away from him without him getting suspicious? I can't just punch him in the gut and then try to wrestle it away from him while he's weakened."

"Of course not," Zane answered, patting the edge of the bandage down before applying tape to keep it in place. "There would be three others with you. If you tried to take Pythor out, his underlings would just gang up on you, rendering you helpless. I can tell that you are strong, Cole. But I'm not positive that you would be able to handle four miscreants in your given condition."

"Thanks for the support, Zane," Cole sighed, resting his chin in his hands. His mind was whirling a mile a minute. Seriously, what was he suppose to do? This was suppose to be a team building exercise. Not only that, but an opportunity for each of them to be able to practice with their weapons in the field. So far, Cole wasn't going to be able to do either. "I'm not a spy yet. This is suppose to be the appetizer. To give me a taste of what to expect. Aren't first missions suppose to have low stakes? Shouldn't Wu expect us to mess up even a little bit?"

Kai and Jay exchanged understanding glances, but Zane cut them off before they could say anything. "We cannot afford to make mistakes in our line of work. Big or small, a mission is a mission. In comparison to many other tasks that N.I.N.J.A.G.O operatives have had to accomplish in the past, this mission is tiny tubers."

"Uh, I think you mean 'small potatoes', Zane," Jay chuckled, patting the android on the back.

"Regardless of the relative size or nature of the food, Pythor is not a very big threat. This _is_ a mission worthy of newer agents or trainees. We could have been involved in something much more dangerous and high risk, such as-"

"Trying to rescue this kid that's in danger?" Kai had his hands clasped behind his back, garnishing stares from his teammates. "I know that's the bigger goal here. We have to be good enough to save this poor kid. If Cole is off actually finishing this mission that we're on, what are _we_ suppose to do? How are Jay and I suppose to get _any_ kind of experience in the field?" He was starting to feel antsy again with the whole N.I.N.J.A.G.O thing. He was starting to doubt himself again. Wu really had put way too much pressure on them, all over a missing kid.

"You two will get plenty of experience," Zane said, a bit of annoyance in his usually monotone voice. He was beginning to feel more than frustrated with all the whining from the new recruits. "As I said, we can equip Cole with a tracker. Once we know exactly where the virus is, we will all attack. I'm sure four against four is as good as any odds we'll find."

"I suppose that could work," Cole nodded. "Though this mission still doesn't feel like small potatoes to me."

A sudden cheer erupted from the Slither Pit. All four of the recruits turned to look, watching as another of the thugs claimed victory. The guy was short, but every part of him was coated in thick muscles. The guy's hands were huge, and it looked as if he could rip apart anything he wanted. Jay shivered, shaking his head and looking away. "Well. . . say hello to your new teammate, Cole."

"I really don't like this." The rock climber shook his head. "This is too dangerous. We basically know nothing. But it's not like we have a choice. We're in this, and we'll get out of this. Zane's idea is as good as any, so let's just hope that-"

Jay pressed the palm of his hand against Cole's lips. "Do _not_ say it."


	12. A Bonus

Chapter Twelve: A Bonus

At the end of the night, Cole knew exactly who he'd be working with on Pythor's mission. It wasn't very reassuring at all. Each and every one of them looked like they could tear anyone apart without hesitation and, to add insult to injury, Pythor had been watching Cole intently for the rest of the night with extreme suspicion.

After the battles in the Slither Pit had ended, they were herded back into the room the young spies had first found. The gang members spread throughout the area, each choosing to stand with their own selected group of friends. Kai leaned back against the wall, watching everyone interact with each other, wondering if they'd be able to stop Pythor's diabolical scheme. "So, now what? We just wait for Pythor to be ready to seal the deal? This feels so useless."

"Sometimes being a spy is all about patience," Zane said, shaking his head. "We cannot allow our impulses to control us."

Jay shot Zane a panicked look, his eyes shifting around left and right. "Um, Zane, please stop saying the 'S' word out loud. I'm pretty sure Pythor's already onto us."

"Jay's right," Cole stated. "We should try to keep who we are to ourselves as much as possible. We should probably try to blend in too. If we keep sticking together, we might attract more attention to ourselves."

"No, no, no." The blue-eyed man shook his head rapidly. "That's not what I meant at all. The last thing I want is to be alone. We need to stick together."

"Actually, I think the rock lover is right," Kai said, pushing himself off the wall. "Together, we're a bigger target. Separated, we might learn a thing or two."

"You just want to get yourself in trouble. . ." Jay mumbled, crossing his arms. "I'm serious, guys. Splitting up is a _bad_ idea."

"Oh, come on. This isn't a horror movie." The mechanic rolled his eyes. "You're just-"

Cole forced himself to stand, flinching as his weight shifted to his wounded leg. "Stop bickering. We're going to split up in order to look less suspicious. We'll try our best to keep our eyes on each other, and we are _not_ going to try and be heroes and do something idiotic and out of line."

Cole's grey eyes locked onto Kai's while he uttered the last bit of his instructions, and Kai scowled, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything."

"Then it is settled. We shall all spend time away from each other," Zane said, choosing not to acknowledge Jay's softly vocalized disapproval. "We should try to come back together before Cole leaves, to give him support."

Cole nodded, placing a hand on the android's shoulder. "Yeah, thanks for that," he sighed, though his words were genuine. He didn't necessarily _want_ to be alone on the night leading up to a possible catastrophe. Isolation left him with just his thoughts, and they weren't very good ones right now, but it was the only way to try and alleviate as much suspicion as possible. There was no point in jeopardizing the entirety of Ninjago just to hang around with his newly acquired friends. If he could even call them friends at this point. They still barely knew anything about each other. "I'll catch you guys later," Cole finished, slightly limping his way towards a slowly gathering crowd.

"Well. . . are we just suppose to wander around and try to make new friends then?" Jay hissed. "Yeah, let me just go introduce myself to the number of guys that look like they could _kill me_ if they really wanted to."

"Technically, anyone could kill you if they really wished to," Zane interjected. "Their personal background and appearance does not necessarily factor in to their-"

"Forget it," the blue eyed man said, beginning to walk in the opposite direction Cole had. "I'll just go not make any new friends way over there where it'll be a little quieter." He waved his hand back before adjusting the beanie on his hand. "Just don't get mad when things go terribly wrong and I get to say 'told you so' later."

Kai narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "Don't worry," he muttered under his breath. "I'm not gonna let you have the satisfaction of saying 'told you so', Jay." With that, the brunet gave Zane a nod before shoving his hands into the conjoined pocket of his hoodie and stalking through the sprawling crowds of gang members.

He wandered around for a little bit, trying to get a feel for the people he had been surrounded by for the past few hours. Within the gang itself, there almost seemed to be subgroups. The more muscular, stronger guys seemed to hang around with each other. _Probably swapping workout regiments_ , Kai chuckled to himself. Most of the brawlers seemed to hang around each other too, almost worshiping the guy that Cole had fought in the Slither Pit earlier. _It's like he's their leader or something_. Kai encountered a few subgroups that always spoke in hushed tones, practically spitting gossip at one another. _Guess petty girls aren't the only venomous people in the world_.

Wandering around the large, cavernous room was making Kai antsy. He hadn't run into any of the others during however long they'd decided to separate, but he was really getting the urge to explore a little further. They _were_ in the sewers after all. There had to be branching pathways all over the place. Kai glanced around before settling on a darker patch of the wall opposite him. There weren't many gang members hanging out around the presumed opening either. _Perfect. I can go exploring and I won't be accused of snooping_.

As Kai stood only paces away from what, in fact, was what he had been hoping for, he stopped dead in his tracks. He could feel an unwanted gaze on his back. Flexing his still gloved hands inside his hoodie pocket, he glanced over his shoulder to see a man with dark blue hair watching him. The man's piercing gaze made Kai a little dizzy, but he tried to ignore it all, walking straight into the tunnel despite everything.

Liquid dripped from the ceiling slowly, splashing into puddles of what Kai could only hope was actually water. The smell had ceased being a problem quite some time ago. Begrudgingly, the mechanic had already gotten used to it. Steps echoing around him, Kai continued walking for what felt like forever. What if the tunnel just kept going? Would he wind up outside the boundaries of the city? Would the others ever find him? _I'll turn back in a few more minutes_ , he told himself. _I just want to make sure I don't miss anything important_.

There was a growl that came from somewhere nearby, startling Kai. His muscles stiffened and his heart hammered away, making his chest ache painfully. It hadn't sounded like an animal though. No. Kai knew the sound very well. It reminded him of himself, getting frustrated with customers at the shop and just failing at keeping the frustration bottled up. But where exactly had it come from? Kai removed his hands from his pocket and rubbed the palms of his gloves together. Fire shot up, casting his own shadow across the now discernible ground. There was another, smaller pathway off to his left. It had been hidden in the darkness. Breathing deeply to try and shake his nerves, Kai decided to venture down it.

He held his hands a good ways out in front of him, palms to the ceiling. It was the only way for him to effectively see two feet in front of him. In less time than he had expected, Kai heard a familiar voice. He brought his hands together, squeezing them in anticipation, successfully dousing the flames. Creeping closer and trying to keep himself against the wall behind him as best as he could, Kai finally found himself nearing a room. It wasn't nearly as large as the central room that all of the other gang members seemed to treat as their hangout spot, but it wasn't remarkable tiny either.

And standing in front of a rather large monitor, was Pythor.

"All I'm asking is if you have it. You either have it, or you don't," he spat.

Kai strained his neck to see who Pythor was talking to. It looked like an older woman, greying hair pulled back in a braid that was draped over her left shoulder. Her red lips were pulled up in a smirk and she held a glint of mischief in her large, green eyes. "Of course I have it," she said, holding up a capsule that was all too familiar to Kai. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from making any involuntary noises. "I always deliver on my promises. The exchange will happen as I've said, but only if you have the money that _you've_ promised _me_. This stuff isn't cheap, as I'm sure you're aware, and I went through an awful lot of trouble getting my hands on it."

"Don't try to play me for a fool," Pythor scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Your reputation proceeds you, Misako. It would have been easy for you to get your hands on it. No need to be dramatic."

 _Misako_. Kai crouched against the wall now, trying to make himself as small as possible. Sure, Pythor had his back towards him, but what if the current number one enemy of N.I.N.J.A.G.O saw him sneaking about in the background? _Calm down. She doesn't even know who you are. Even if she saw you, why would she assume you were working for N.I.N.J.A.G.O? Stop panicking, Kai. Spies don't panic_.

"So, you _do_ have the money that I asked for then?" Misako continued, her tone growing slightly darker.

Pythor faltered for a brief moment. "Well, you see, I don't actually have the _total_ amount you had originally asked-"

"Then the deal's off," Misako interrupted. "I'm not really one for negotiating. The deal is off."

Kai felt relief wash over him. This was good news. If the deal was off, that was less pressure on Cole. They could leave soon and go back to N.I.N.J.A.G.O with a victory under their belts.

"Wait, please!" Pythor was begging now, his voice dripping with desperation. "I think I have something to give you in addition to the money I _do_ have."

Misako raised an eyebrow. "What could you possibly have that you think I would want?"

"You could consider it. . . a bonus. I personally think it's much more valuable than money. Or, at least, I think _you_ would see it that way."

Misako tilted her head, to show Pythor that she was listening. Kai backed away slowly, deciding to return instead of pushing his luck. He couldn't see the outside, but his tired body told him it was fairly late. He wasn't very sure on how the gang member's sleeping habits worked, but he hoped their desire to get some rest wasn't too far behind. He had to have a word with his team, had to let them know Misako was the one behind this complicated ordeal. As soon as he stepped out of the dark tunnel and into the big room he'd been in before, Kai spotted his blue-eyed teammate, leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Jay!" Kai trotted forward, nudging the man with his foot. Jay began to tip over to the side, before flailing into consciousness. He shook his head, looking up at Kai with a confused frown.

"I thought we were laying low and far away from each other?" Jay rubbed his eyes. "Not kicking each other around when we're trying to sleep."

"And _I_ thought we were supposed to blend in, not act like loners in the corner of the room."

"Okay, so I'm not good at making friends. So what?" Jay shrugged, stretching out his arms before standing. "It's not like I _want_ to make friends."

"That doesn't matter anyway," Kai shook his head. "We need to get the others. You'll all want to hear what I stumbled upon."

"Oh, did you injure yourself in the process?"

Kai and Jay turned away from each other, towards the sound of the voice that had suddenly joined the conversation. It was Zane, looking as if he had been standing there the entire time, the smallest of smiles pulling at the corners of his mouth. Kai shook his head. "What? No, no, no. I didn't hurt myself. Why? And how long have you been. . . you weren't there when I walked over here, like, two seconds ago."

Zane shook his head. "No, I just noticed you walking up to Jay, so I assumed it was the time to regroup. And I heard you say that you stumbled, Kai. Did you injure yourself? Do you need any first aid?"

The mechanic inhaled deeply, having a hard time deciding if he should be angry with the android for always taking everything so literal, or if he should laugh at how ridiculous Zane sounded sometimes. "No, I'm not hurt," he settled on, trying to keep his temper in check. "I didn't actually stumble into anything, I just overheard something that you guys may be interested in." He paused for a moment, letting the eerie quiet of the sewers ring in his ears. "Misako is behind all of this. She's the one that set up the deal with Pythor. She's the one that has the virus thing Pythor needs. We're even closer to getting that kid back than we thought we were."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jay said, a mixture of amazement and fear in his blue eyes. "Pythor is working with Misako? How do you know this? How do you even know it's actually her?"

"I'm pretty sure that when someone is addressed by their name, then it's them," Kai scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I got a pretty good look at her, so I'm sure Zane can confirm if it's actually her or not. You've got to have some files of her past involvement with N.I.N.J.A.G.O in your database, right?" Zane gave Kai a quick nod, and the mechanic smiled before delving back into his explanation. He felt proud of himself. _He'd_ been the one to discover something vital. The quicker they saved the kid, the faster he'd be able to go back to the shop and see Nya. "Anyway, the deal is with Misako. Pythor was suppose to give her some money for the virus, but it seemed like he didn't have enough. Misako was going to call the whole thing off, but Pythor offered up something else as collateral, in addition to the money that he _does_ have."

Jay mulled over Kai's words and bobbed his head. "Alright, I believe you. So, what did Pythor say he was gonna give her?"

The cocky smirk faded from Kai's face faster than a lightning strike. "I. . . uh, I didn't actually hang around long enough to hear what he was gonna give her."

Jay gave Kai a smack on the back of his head. "What's the matter with you?" he hissed in a hushed tone. "You gather all this information and then you don't even have the one piece that could tie most of it together? What if it's a weapon or something? Like an _actual_ weapon. We don't want this woman to get more firepower or anything. Wu's brother already told us she's gonna be hard enough to deal with."

"Perhaps it is not a weapon," Zane interrupted, looking deep in thought. "Pythor has his own spies that lurk around Ninjago. Hardly anything happens without his knowledge. If he is working with Misako, as Kai says, then perhaps Pythor has managed to dig up some dirt on Garmadon, giving her even more leverage over him. Of course, holding his son hostage seems to be good enough leverage in of itself."

Kai felt his muscles tighten. "Yeah! That could be it! I know Pythor said that whatever it was 'much more valuable than money'. Or, at least, that _she'd_ probably find it really valuable. It's got to be some kind of inside information." He was feeling pumped, adrenaline flooding his veins. Too bad they couldn't just go and kick Misako's butt now. They had to lay low for a little while and just let Cole. . . "Oh no, we need to tell Cole about this too! We've got to tell him that he needs to keep his eyes peeled and ears listening. We've gotta find out what Pythor is gonna tell Misako in exchange for the virus."

* * *

"Stay close, stay low, and stay as silent as possible." Cole muttered to himself again and again as he fidgeted with a minuscule ear piece Zane had given to him. The flat, metallic disc fit right behind a flap of cartilage in his ear. It was completely obscured from view, but sat close enough to the ear canal so he could hear his teammates talking. Leaning his head to the left over so slightly, Cole cleared his throat. "Testing, testing," he whispered. "Can you guys hear me?"

There was the oddly soothing sound of white noise, followed by a screech of feedback. Cole jumped involuntarily, his heart racing. "Yeah, we can hear you," came Jay's voice. "Sorry about that, I was trying to figure out how to turn the stupid mic on."

"Well, thanks for blasting my ear drum," the rock climber spat softly. Once he was actually out with Pythor and the others, he'd have to keep his talking to a minimum. The microphone attached to the upper collar of his shirt was really only in place to allow the others to listen in on Pythor and Misako. "I'm pretty sure the others are gonna start showing up soon. This is the exit that Pythor told us to meet at." No sooner had the words escaped Cole's lips, when the muscular man that had won the second Slither Pit showed up. The rock climber fell silent.

"Just remember to activate the tracking device in your sleeve before you go," Zane said. Cole gave a slight nod in response, realizing afterwards that no one was going to see him answering. "Once you activate it, I will be able to track your movements. When you finally arrive at the rendezvous point, click the tracker again and it will lock in that location, making it easier for us to find you."

"And who are you suppose to be?" Cole raised his head, trying to keep himself calm. He was a thug, not a spy. His cover was still intact. "I asked who you are, shorty."

Cole scoffed at the man in front of him. "Shorty? I'm taller than _you_. . ." His voice trailed off as he failed to come up with an insulting nickname for the man before him. He was going to settle on Spiky, because of the way the man's black hair spiked up into orange tips, but he decided against it. That name wasn't clever enough. "The name's, uh. . ." He was drawing a blank. He didn't want to use his real name. But what could he-

"Your name's Boris," Jay said in his ear. "Just go with it. Trust me."

"Boris," Cole repeated, trying to act like he hadn't just trailed off with his sentence yet again. "And you are?"

"Boris? Jay, really? What kind of name is that?" Kai yelled. "Are you kidding me?"

Cole could hear Jay chuckling, probably at his expense. "Oh, come on. You know, like an ouro _boris_? Pretty clever, right?"

"Are you heckling people again, Skalidor?" Cole looked past the muscular man to see two more people approaching. The one that had spoken was taller than he was, his dark blue hair trailing his shoulders. "Just because you wanted Fangtom to be the one to come along with us, doesn't mean you get to bully the one who defeated him." The man gave a toothy grin, striding past Skalidor, who Cole assumed was the muscular man. "I'm sorry that I overheard your conversation, but you said your name was Boris?" The man extended a pale hand and Cole shook it forcefully. "They call me Skales. Looking forward to working with you today."

"Same here," Cole said, his gaze fixing on Skales' eyes. They were an unsettling shade of red. Probably colored contacts.

"And then this here is my friend Acidicus," Skales continued, gesturing for the man who had walked in with him to come closer. Cole could see his skin was lightly tanned, and he had a few piercings on his eyebrows that complimented the gauges in his ears. Acidicus didn't say anything, just opting to give Cole a nod before running a hand through his dark green hair. "So, Boris, I haven't really seen you around here much," Skales said, adjusting the long blue and yellow overcoat that adorned his thin frame. "Who do you usually hang around with?"

Cole felt his breath shake for a moment as he tried to devise an acceptable answer in his head. "Well, I usually pal around with-"

"Ah, everyone's here on time! How perfect," rang a cheerful voice. Pythor clapped his hands together as he strode across the room quickly. "Now we can leave and actually be punctual with the client for once. You know she doesn't like to be kept waiting and today isn't the day to get on her bad side. So, shall we go?" For a brief moment, his eyes met Cole's and the rock climber saw of glint of joy reflected in the man's gaze. He really _was_ happy to be getting his hands on the awful virus. "Alright then, tut tut, no dilly-dallying. We're off to get our weapon."

The group slowly made their way to a ladder underneath the nearest manhole cover. Cole allowed the others to go ahead of him so he could bring up the rear like he had planned. "Jay, remind me to kill you when I get back," he whispered as he climbed up the ladder.

"Oh lighten up, _Boris_ , and go get that deadly biological weapon from the deranged kidnapper already."


	13. Bargain

Chapter Thirteen: Bargains

Cole continued to follow the others, forcing himself to walk faster in order keep up with Pythor and his goons. He knew that the others were close, ready to jump in if anything went wrong, but there was still the feeling of fear skulking around his stomach. Cole shook his head, taking a deep breath and focusing on the task at hand.

"Nervous?" Skales chuckled teasingly, pushing Cole forward, closer to the dangerous posse.

Cole smirked, flipping aside his black hair. "Of course not. What would _we_ have to be nervous about?"

Skales nodded, accepting the response. The rest of the walk continued in silence, until Pythor finally slowed to a stop after turning down an alley. Lights flickered on and off, leaving Cole in darkness more often than not.

"This is nervewracking," Jay's voice said. "We should have set up a camera or something. There hasn't been a sound in ages. Does the microphone even still work?"

" _Yes_ ," Cole hissed, as quietly as he could. Skales turned back to give him a look, and the rock climber shrugged nonchalantly.

Footsteps echoed in the alley behind them. Everyone turned, while Pythor smiled, holding his arms open in order to recieve Misako. The woman scowled at Pythor's gesture, keeping her distance. There were two people standing on each side of her. One was a man wearing red shades, something Cole thought was ridiculous at this time of the night. The other was a green-haired woman, hand on her hips and a look of annoyance permanently etched upon her face.

"Ah, Misako, fashionably late as always, are we?" Pythor smiled, letting his arms drop to his sides.

Jay gasped. "It's really _her_."

"What? Did you think I was lying?" Kai's voice shot back.

"Well I don't really-"

There was a brief shushing sound, followed by Zane's voice. "We are meant to listen, not distract Cole every chance we get."

He felt his heart beating faster, could hear the blood in his ears. It started blocking out the sounds of his friends' voices. Cole lightly cleared his throat, shaking away the nerves that were beginning to settle. He was a villain, a thug. He was suppose to be here. If you lie to yourself enough, anything can become your reality.

Misako closed the small gap between herself and Pythor, red lips stuck in an odd manner between a scowl and a smirk. "If I'm always 'late', then you can just skip the formality of it all and say that I'm on time, Pythor," she said. Her green eyes sparkled in the flittering light, sending a chill throughout Cole's body. She looked indifferent to everything around her. This was the woman who had shot Garmadon. This was the woman who had kidnapped a child. "So, do you have what you promised me? I'm sorry if I don't find you entirely trustworthy, so I brought some of my best colleagues with me to make sure that you didn't skip out on anything."

Cole flexed his fingers, feeling the tension in his muscles. The green haired woman took a few steps forward, her piercing eyes resting upon every person for a brief moment. The man followed her lead, moving across the ground before disappearing in the blink of an eye. Cole was happy that he wasn't the only one startled by this. All of the other thugs, Pythor included, were glancing around, looking to see where the man had disappeared to. Acidicus gave a strangled growl as he fell onto the concrete, scraping up his arms and hands in the process.

The man reappeared next to Misako, holding a shining briefcase in his hands: the one Acidicus had been carrying since they'd left the sewers. Cole let out a long breath in total awe. How had he done that? What exactly were they going up against?

"Hey, Cole, what's happening?" Jay's voice rang clear, sounding both curious and frightened. "Come on. We heard Misako talking and then nothing. Tell us what's going on."

"He can't do that, motormouth," Kai growled. "Do you _want_ him to get caught?"

"I believe you promised me more than this," Misako said, opening the case and running her fingers along the bound, unmarked bills inside. "You said you were able to get me as much money as you possibly could, but failed to meet the price I had originally set. So where's this special surprise?" She reached down to her hip and drew a firearm. As she cocked the weapon, the sound echoed down the alleyway. Cole could really feel his heart hammering now. He fought the immediate urge to throw his hands up in surrender. The others seemed a little on edge, but not completely terrified. He had to follow their lead.

"Cole, was that a gun?" Zane asked fervently. "Keep calm. Try not to show any distress. If the gun is fired, make a hasty retreat."

"Of course," Pythor's smiled returned, and he stood a bit taller, trying to regain the bits and pieces of confidence he still had. Ever so slowly, Pythor began to move back towards his henchmen, settling a hand upon Cole's shoulder. "I always keep my promises."

In one swift movement, Pythor kicked Cole down, and the man fell against the concrete, landing on his wrist. Cole shook his head, groaning. Pythor placed his foot atop Cole's back, preventing him from standing. "This is my little surprise."

Misako raised one of her eyebrows, utterly unamused. Pythor continued to smile, awaiting her reaction. She shook her head, leveling the weapon to Pythor's forehead. "A man? You better start explaining yourself."

"Not just _any_ man, my dear." Pythor chuckled, and Cole's blood ran cold. "This _man_ here, is a spy."

Cole closed his eyes, sighing and allowing his head to fall. He stopped struggling.

"And that's not all," Pythor continued. "There are three more, back at our hideout. They thought they could infiltrate our ranks, without raising any suspision. But of course, I knew better."

"Oh man, oh man, oh man." Jay's voice was shaking, and Cole could just imagine his pale panicked face. "We're so-"

The black haired man never got to hear the rest of Jay's sentence. Pythor had reached down, snatching the small earpiece and holding it before Misako. "If you don't believe me. . . here's something that might persuade you."

Misako allowed the gun to drop to her side. She reached out, taking hold of the earpiece. Her lips twisted upwards into a smile as she pocketed the device. "Very good, Pythor. You've proved yourself to be surprisingly useful."

Pythor bowed, reaching out his hand. "I'm a man of my word. Now, time to fulfill _your_ end of the bargain."

"Oh," Misako giggled, raising the gun once again. "I'm afraid I can't let you run around with such a weapon. You were a good little puppet, Pythor. But don't forget who holds the strings."

The gunshot echoed through the alley.

It felt as if everything was moving in slow motion. Cole blinked, feeling Pythor's weight immediately lift off of his back. He turned around, watching the gang leader fall backwards, his violet eyes staring blankly at the sky. Despite everything, Cole felt numb. His heartbeat was quickened, but he couldn't feel much of anything else. Slowly, cold gripped his body as he backed away from Pythor's body, focusing his gaze on the steady stream of crimson liquid that spilled from the wound on his forehead. Still, there was nothing. It was almost as if Cole truly couldn't grasp what had just happened.

There was a hand on Cole's shoulder, gripping him hard. Nails dug lightly into the fabric of his shirt, yanking him to his feet without his permission. A voice was in his ear, powerful and threatening at the same time, but Cole couldn't discern exactly what Misako was saying. The sound of the gunshot was still echoing in his ears, eerie and haunting.

He blinked again, noticing that the other thugs had fled the scene, leaving him behind. Zane had told him to run if the gun was fired. _Zane. . ._ Cole tried to refocus on the situation. His cover had been blown. His friends' safety had been compromised. He was in trouble. A man was dead. If he didn't get a hold of himself, there was a strong possibility that he'd end up joining Pythor.

". . . or I _will_ kill you. And wouldn't your friends just feel crushed if that happened?"

Cole felt the barrel of the gun press up against his temple. The cold he expected from the metal was replaced with a subdued warmth from recently being fired. It finally cemented the reality around him. Cole felt the adrenaline. The fear. The anger. His hands shook slightly as he realized he hadn't heard exactly what Misako had said to him, but from what he _had_ caught, it hadn't been good. Cole stayed silent and still for a few moments, until the weapon was taken away from his head.


	14. Cold Shoulder

Chapter Fourteen: Cold Shoulder

"Oh man, oh man, oh man." Jay shook his head over and over, "We lost connection. Did you hear that shot? He's dead, he's dead and we're next. We're so dead. This was the worst idea ever. I should've said no. Should've. Now we're dead, and he died and-"

Kai slammed his hand against Jay's mouth, forcing the blue-eyed man into silence. "We're _not_ dead. Not yet. And we won't _be_ dead, if we get out of here. Also, he's not dead. He can't be dead. We just need to get back to headquarters and. . ."

 _And what, Kai? Admit defeat?_ The man cringed. He could already hear Garmadon's mocking laughter.

"And inform Wu of what has occurred," Zane nodded, finishing Kai's sentence. "It is our best bet. He will know what to do next. And Neuro will know exactly where Cole has been taken, if he isn't de-"

" _Don't_ say it," Kai hissed, shaking his head. "No one is dead. Let's just . . . go back."

Jay nodded, slowly pushing away the red ninja's hand. "Okay. Go back. We can do that."

He started walking forward slowly, happy that Zane picked up the pace and was now taking the lead. Sure, it wouldn't have taken long for Jay himself to navigate his way out of the sewers, but he was happy he didn't have to. In fact, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to consciously remember the correct paths to take. His mind felt scrambled, his hands shaking. They were all spies now. They were the good guys. Nothing bad ever happened to the good guys in the movies. Heroes always made it out unscathed in the end. And now Cole was. . . he was probably. . .

"Hey, motormouth," Kai whispered from behind, nudging Jay's back lightly with an elbow. "You mind picking up the pace before the real threat shows up to take us out?" Jay wanted to turn around and shove Kai. He was being so inconsiderate, but the more the mechanic rambled on about moving faster, the clearer it became that he was feeling just as anxious as Jay was. There was a slight waver in his voice that betrayed his callous facade. Jay just nodded in silence, willing his legs to move faster, which wasn't very hard. He usually walked at a quicker pace, but the Cole situation was messing with his head.

"Do you. . . do you really think he's okay?" Jay hadn't even realized the thought had physically escaped his lips, breaking the otherwise silent, stagnant air of the sewers.

Zane didn't turn around when he answered him, but his voice was clear and honest. "I don't know."

Swallowing hard against the ever growing lump in his throat, Jay continued forward, keeping his blue eyes focused on the ground. He didn't want to think about it anymore, but Cole was _all_ he could think about at the moment. Sure, none of them had known each other for _that_ long, but they were all in this mess together. They were a team. _Maybe if I hadn't talked so much to Cole, he wouldn't have been caught_. Jay's chest felt heavy with guilt and concern. _Maybe if. . .  
_  
"There was nothing any of us could've done," Kai spoke up, eerily disputing Jay's thoughts. "If Cole's dead then. . . he's dead and there's nothing we could have done to stop it. But he's probably not. . . he _isn't_ dead. He just can't be. You saw Cole in the Slither Pit. He can take care of himself. I'm sure he's okay. And we're gonna go get him back." The mechanic gave Jay a hard pat on the back as they finally approached a ladder that led back up to the surface. "So try not to worry and let's just get outta here before _we_ end up in a bad situation."

Jay nodded, climbing up and out behind Zane. The fresh air was a nice change from the suffocating sewer smell, and both Kai and Jay took deep breaths. It eased the blue ninja's nerves slightly, just enough for his body to stop shaking. Zane did not stop, however, stalking through the alley and out onto the street. The other two recruits followed, quickening their pace once they were out in the open.

Every car that zoomed down the street made them flinch, and every set of footsteps made them cower against the shadows. But none of them turned out to be Misako, or any of her henchmen.

"We got lucky," Kai sighed, feeling his heart rate slowly return to normal as they walked into the N.I.N.J.A.G.O headquarters.

"I don't count losing Cole as _lucky_ ," Jay pointed out, shaking his head. "We need to tell Wu, fast. Maybe we can rescue him. Do we even know where Misako's hideout is?"

"Garmadon is aware of its location," Zane replied. "As you might remember, he attempted to break in not too long ago."

"And _failed_." Jay shivered. "I mean, Garmadon is. . . Garmadon. And we're us. How are we supposed to succeed where he didn't?"

"He's an old man," Kai scowled. "We'll be able to get Cole back, no problem."

Jay shrugged, not entirely convinced. Zane led them into Neuro's small office, where both Wu and Garmadon where already waiting. Kai felt a flash of anger surge through him. Garmadon was sure to poke fun at their failure, reminding them of how inadequate they were.

"So, you have returned," Wu smiled. "A bit sooner than I had expected. I suppose you prevented Pythor from reaching the virus?"

Kai chuckled. "Well, I mean, it didn't sound like he got it. So yes, I supposed we did prevent it."

Garmadon raised an eyebrow, "And where's the fourth team member?"

"Oh man, oh man, oh man." Jay shook his head violently, "They got Cole. Misako showed up, and she, she was the one with the virus, except she didn't want to give it up, and then we heard a shot, right before the earpiece went dead. I just. . . we don't know _who_ is dead, we don't know where Cole is, and. . . "

"So you failed," Garmadon smiled, satisfied. "I told you, Wu. This was a mistake. I just need to-"

" _You_?" Kai snapped. "Last thing I remember was you scurrying in here after trying to rescue your son. You're no better."

Garmadon felt his muscles tighten, irritating the injury that he'd received from Misako's henchman. "I'd watch your tongue if I were you, boy," the agent spat, closing the distance between himself and Kai faster than anyone would have expected. Garmadon wasn't about to let a mere child call him out and pass judgment on _him_. "I don't think you have the right to talk to me about losing someone. I've been working in this line of work since before you were born."

Jay placed a nervous hand on Kai's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Kai shrugged his friend off and straightened his posture. The anger and guilt flooding his veins was strong enough to override his sense of restraint. "Well then, a mistake like this was bound to happen since we're new. I'm sure _you_ weren't perfect when you started either."

"Kai. . ." Zane said, his voice stern and somber. The mechanic was taken aback by the android's tone. He was always serious, but Zane actually sounded very worried.

"You're right," Wu spoke up, looking to try and mediate the situation. "Garmadon made mistakes when he first started. Rookie mistakes like alerting passing security guards to his presence, not bringing enough ammo for weapons, and accidentally allowing civilians to become entangled in messy situations." He sneaked a quick glance at Garmadon who stared daggers. "Don't act like you've always been perfect, brother. You know it's true."

Garmadon was seething inside. His failures were his to know alone. The smirk that was growing on Kai's face bored a hole through his soul. "Are you going to get your friend back or not, hothead?" The man challenged, wondering if the kid would be smart enough to know that he couldn't handle it.

Pulling on his gloves, Kai stared Garmadon straight in the eyes. "Not only are we gonna get Cole back from your crazy wife, but we're gonna pick your son up on the way out too."

Jay shook his head, trying to get Kai to stop while he was ahead. "Let's not promise more than we can deliver. . ." the blue-eyed man said. "We're playing with lives here, Kai."

"Yes, Kai, listen to your friend," Garmadon laughed. "At least he seems to have some common sense. By the time you get to Misako's hideout, your teammate will already be dead."

Refusing to listen to any more of Garmadon's words, Kai turned on his heel and started storming out, but not before he stopped and cocked his head to the side. "Then consider your son as good as dead too." With that, the mechanic left the room, the automatic doors shutting softly behind him.


	15. Friends

Chapter Fifteen: Friends

Cole didn't know how far the car ride was. He didn't know where they were going. He didn't know where they were now. As soon as he'd been shoved into a black car by Misako's gun, there had been a blindfold tightened against his eyes. The only thing he could see was endless blackness, and the only thing he could hear were soft murmurs from the front of the vehicle.

His heart hadn't stopped pounding painfully against his chest. Since Pythor's body hit the floor, Cole's breath had been rapid and exaggerated, as if each breath might be his last. And the worst part of all was the waiting. Waiting for Misako to attack. Waiting for a flash of pain. Waiting for the untimely death that was surely crawling closer. Waiting, because it was the only thing he could do.

Cole wondered about the others. They weren't here. Misako had mentioned them, but as far as he knew, they hadn't been captured. He would know if they'd be taken, wouldn't he?

"Are. . . the others going to be taken as well?" Cole's curiosity got the better of him. It wasn't like Misako didn't already know about them. As long as he was careful in his conversation, he could learn a thing or two without giving anything away. It'd be something useful to have if they rescued him.

 _When_ , Cole told himself. _When they rescue me_.

"Mmmm?" Misako's voice was closer than he'd pictured. She seemed to be sitting directly across from him. "The others? Oh no, honey. They won't be joining us. After all, I only need one of you alive to answer my questions, don't I?"

Cole's stomach flipped. He tightened his lips. She was bluffing. She had to be. The others would have found a way to escape. They couldn't be dead. They couldn't. "I'm a lot more stubborn than I look." The man tried to sound defiant, but his voice had begun to shake.

Misako laughed. A gentle, mocking laugh. "We'll see."

The car stopped rather suddenly. Cole, unprepared and unaware of his surroundings, lurched forward, holding his arms out to try and stop himself from falling. He felt the satin cloth of a garment underneath his hands and he sat back up immediately after the momentum had passed. His mind was spinning, heart accelerating faster. A familiar sound echoed through the vehicle and he felt his muscles tense up as the chilled metal of a gun was pressed against his forehead. "I'll let it slide this once, but you'll remember well to never touch me again," Misako said.

Cole merely nodded in agreement. What else could he do? There was a sliding sound. Something opened. Cole was yanked to his feet and shoved. Still blind, he tried to catch his balance while he stumbled, but failed. His body hit the rough ground and his hands stung with pain. If he had his weapon, maybe he would have felt more confident to try and make a move, to make an escape, but as he was pulled to his feet once more, Cole decided it was best to cooperate. For now. The others were going to come for him. _If they're still alive_ , his thoughts offered. Cole shook the thought away as best as he could. He had to try and hold on to hope.

Cold air hit the rock climber, making him jump slightly. They were definitely inside somewhere. If he wasn't trapped before, he was now. It felt like an eternity, being nudged in different directions, walking blindly down hallways, but the soft click of a lock sounded and Cole was pushed down into a chair. The blindfold was removed, and he squinted hard, his grey eyes practically watering in the bright fluorescent light. There was a wooden table right in front of him, freshly polished, and Misako sat across from him, her red lips curved into a sadistic smile. "Are you ready to start talking?"

"No restraints?" Cole mused, trying to stay optimistic.

Misako just chuckled. "I'm sure Wu and Garmadon have told you all about me. I don't think you'd get very far if you tried to do anything."

* * *

Kai held his head in his hands, staring blankly at the floor. Why did he always let Garmadon get to him? _Then consider your son as good as dead too_. The words replayed in his mind over and over again. He gave a frustrated growl, punching the pillow that lay on his bunk. Kai didn't want the kid to die. He didn't want _anyone_ to die, but Garmadon knew where to hit him. Knew what buttons to press to make him abandon all reason and just go for the kill. "I really _am_ a hothead," the brunet sighed, feeling the guilt of his words and actions start weighing upon him.

"But hotheads usually know when to take action."

The mechanic lifted his eyes and saw Jay standing before him, a sympathetic smile on his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked sourly, hastily trying to cover up his self pity. "No one asked you to come check on me."

"No, but that's what friends do. They help each other when the going gets tough. And we're a team. Teams stick together." Jay held his hand out to the mechanic and felt his blue eyes widen in shock as Kai actually took it, pulling himself to his feet. "Garmadon just doesn't really like us. He's gonna say that Cole will be dead by the time we find him, but we know he won't. So what do you say, hothead? Ya ready to take some action?"

Kai felt a small smirk rise to his lips as he punched Jay playfully on the arm. "I say zip it, motormouth. We have a friend to take back."

Jay gave a smile as Kai walked around him, heading towards the door. "Ow. . ." he whispered under his breath, rubbing his arm furiously. "So, uh, Kai, let's go find Wu and-"

"We can't go talk to Wu about it," the mechanic answered, interrupting his friend. "Yeah, he knows about it, but we already messed up. It's our fault that Cole is in the predicament he's in. I don't think Wu is gonna just allow us to wander off on our own for a rescue mission. " He reached the door, waiting as it opened with a familiar whoosh, but froze in his tracks when someone he never expected was standing right outside. "What do _you_ want?"

Garmadon raised an eyebrow before entering the room, pushing lightly past Kai. "I want to help," he said, turning to face the mechanic and noticing Jay for the first time. "Oh, good, two of you are here. Saves me some time explaining everything."

"Whoa, whoa, why do _you_ want to help _us_?" Kai challenged. The anger was slowly consuming the guilt he'd felt earlier. It was like a tidal wave, relentless and unstoppable. He felt Jay's hand on his shoulder and tried to take a deep breath. Cole wasn't going to be rescued any faster by arguing. "You never wanted to help us before. It seems like you've only wanted to see us fail, even though the only reason we were brought to N.I.N.J.A.G.O was to help save _your_ son."

Garmadon gingerly crossed his arms, still sore from his bullet injury. "Don't get me wrong, boy. I haven't changed my mind about any of you, but you said something that hit me. If _anything_ happened to Lloyd. . . I don't think I'd ever forgive myself. And if you're going to run a fool's errand to get your friend back, I might as well help you. He's probably with Lloyd now anyway, and I can help you find Misako's hideout."

* * *

"I'm going to start nicely," Misako smiled, playing with a strange silver necklace. Cole watched the object spin from one of her hands to the other. It was thick, like a large iron ring, big enough to clasp around his neck. This realization sent goosebumps traveling down the rock-climber's arms. He turned his grey eyes back towards Misako, trying to remain calm. "I'm sure you're a nice person, Cole. You've got kind eyes. My husband, Garmadon as I'm sure you know, had the kindest eyes I'd ever seen. It's really quite attractive. It makes me rather reluctant to break you."

"Yes, I know him," Cole's voice sounded rather weak. The man cleared his throat, straightening his back. "But I think you mean _ex_ -husband."

A cold anger flashed in Misako's green eyes. Cole held his gaze, waiting, until finally, the woman broke into a fit of laughter. "Oh yes, silly me. We're nothing but a thing of the past now. He was. . . he was not quiet as ambitious as I had first thought. Garmadon was weak, and I was strong. Our relationship was heading nowhere."

Cole shrugged. "I don't think there's anything weak about having a bit of decency."

The woman ignored Cole's answer. Instead, she stood, her red satin dress hugging the curves of her body. "Why did you infiltrate Pythor's hangout?"

The man looked down, opting for silence. He didn't see much harm in answering _that_ question, but if Misako wanted the answer, Cole felt obligated to keep it a secret.

"Why did you want the virus?"

Again, silence. Misako walked behind Cole, out of his line of sight. He could still hear the rhythmic _thud thud_ of her heels, but the man didn't dare turn to face her. "I was hoping not to hurt you, darling, but you're being rather stubborn. You know I will get the answers one way or another, don't you? It'll be better if you just tell me what I need to know."

"With all due respect, ma'am, I don't have to answer to you."

"Hmm. . . No, I suppose you don't." Cold metal made direct contact with Cole's skin. The man flinched slightly, and there was a soft _click_ as the silver ring Misako had been holding clasped around his neck. The woman traveled back to the other side of the room, sitting back down in the chair before Cole. She was now holding a small remote control. It had only one red button. "But you'll be answering to me soon enough."

Misako's finger fell upon the button. An electric shock traveled throughout Cole's body, causing his muscles to spasm uncontrollably. The man slid from the chair, crumpling upon the cold ground. Misako released the pressure from the button. The pain dissipated, but the memory of it remained. Cole remained on the floor, random shudders still rattling his body. "Let's try again, shall we? Why were you with Pythor? Why does Garmadon want the virus? What exactly are you planning?"

Cole forced himself to move back onto the chair. He took a deep breath, trying his best to stop shaking. He looked up at Misako, sticking to his defiant silence.

* * *

"And this isn't a trick or anything?" Kai asked slowly, fighting between his urge to dismiss anything Garmadon had to say immediately and the small, logical part of his brain that was telling him to keep his mouth shut and listen for once.

The aging man pinched the bridge of his nose with his right index finger and thumb, inhaling deeply before continuing. "No, it isn't a trick. Like I said, if you're willing to put yourself in harm's way for your friend, then I might as well get something out of it too." He turned and paced for a moment, taking the silence that had befallen the two recruits as a cue to carry on. "Not everyone knows where Misako hides herself away when she isn't out ruining others' lives."

"Or kidnapping children," Jay added, nodding to himself.

"Right. . ." Garmadon sighed, feeling the hole in his heart ache. How long had Lloyd been gone now? It was approaching three weeks. If he hadn't listened to Wu, if he'd tried to go recover Lloyd immediately after he'd been taken, then maybe this mess wouldn't be happening. The bumbling kids Wu had decided to enlist wouldn't be around. Life would be back to normal. _But that_ didn't _happen,_ his thoughts answered. _Wu told you to wait until he assembled a team, and you did. You can't keep dwelling on the past. You have to move forward, for Lloyd's sake._ "I know where she is. Wu and Neuro know the location too, but I'm willing to bet that neither of them will hand you that information".

"Why not?" Kai was feeling antsy and uneasy, but he didn't know why. "Wu gathered us together. He knows that Cole's in trouble _and_ that your son needs help. We'd have to go to her eventually, so why wouldn't he tell us the information now? We really need it." Kai already knew the answer deep down. He knew why Wu wouldn't want to indulge them in a rescue mission, but he felt like he needed to hear it from Garmadon's mouth to finally let it sink in.

He sighed once more, drawing the sound out. "Because you aren't ready. This last mission of yours was a training exercise, if I remember correctly. It was suppose to help you work on teamwork. Now that you've lost one of your team, Wu isn't going to let you run around and try to get your friend back from Misako's hideout. He doesn't think you're ready. And, to be quite honest, you _aren't_ ready." Garmadon watched as Kai's eyes narrowed dangerously, something he'd expected. These kids were predictable. He could read them like a book. "You and I both know that isn't going to stop you. So let me help."

Garmadon gestured for the two to approach him and they obliged without question, Jay shooting Kai a nervous glance. The man produced a folded piece of paper from one of his pockets, handing it to Kai without a single word. "And these are. . .?" the mechanic asked.

"Instructions. Step by step directions on how to get to where you need to go. I took the liberty of printing them out for you myself so you wouldn't have to go through my brother or Mr 'Eyes and Ears'." As seconds turned into minutes, Garmadon watched both Kai and Jay read the paper in complete silence. He tried to read their facial expressions, their body language, their eyes, but he just couldn't pinpoint anything special about them. What had Wu seen that made him want to recruit these kids in the first place? "So, you'll bring my son back with you?"

Jay looked up from the paper, his blue eyes melancholy yet kind. "We'll do our best," he answered. "Like you said, we aren't exactly ready for something like this, but we're gonna try. We're gonna do everything we can to save Cole and get your son. It's all we _can_ do."

 _I appreciate your honesty. Be careful. Good luck._ All of these thoughts ran through Garmadon's head, but he didn't dare release them into the open air. Instead, he moved past Kai and Jay, stopping as he reached the door. "Don't get yourselves killed," he settled on, each word more stoic and emotionless than the last. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of hearing how desperate and worried he was. Then, Garmadon walked out of the door.

"Oh, excuse me," came a familiar voice, muffled slightly by the sound of the door closing. Garmadon grunted something under his breath, and seconds later, Zane had entered the room.

"I hope you weren't giving Garmadon a hard time again, Kai," the robot narrowed his eyes at the mechanic. "I think you must try harder to maintain a healthy relationship with him."

"Oh, it's healthy alright," Kai smirked, holding up the paper for Zane to see. "Ta-da! Directions to Misako's hideout. We're going to get Cole back."

Zane's eyes widened, and he slammed the door shut behind them, causing Jay to jump slightly. The nindroid's eyes shifted from left to right, before finally taking hold of the paper. "We are not doing anything without Wu's consent. He is the leader of this organization. If he found out that we have been sneaking around behind his back. . ."

"It's _Cole,_ " Jay whined. "We have to get him back. I don't really know if I can trust Wu. Or Garmadon. This is all starting to seem a bit too crazy. Whatever's going on here, it's bigger than us. But I came here with Cole. And Kai. I trust them. And I trust that Cole doesn't deserve whatever is happening to him while we argue."

Zane listened, no emotion to betray his thoughts.

Kai nodded. "We need to get him back. He's one of us. Question is. . . are you with _them_ or us? Can we trust you, Zane?"

The robot allowed a sigh to escape him. "This is so very wrong. I should not help."

Kai and Jay shrugged, getting ready to move past him.

"But I will," Zane finally admitted. "We must hurry. The drive there will take more than a few minutes."

* * *

Misako pressed the button.

The pain. The spasms. The loss of control from every part of his body.

This time, Cole's head slammed against the corner of the table as he crumpled to the ground. Warm blood trickled down from his forehead. Misako cocked her head and smiled, watching the man squirm before finally moving her finger. Cole gasped for air. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Misako's finger, not wanting to see the button, not wanting to know the pain was coming. The darkness behind his eyelids was slightly comforting.

A wave of electricity shot through him again. Cole screamed involuntarily, snapping his eyes open.

"You'll look at me when I'm talking to you," Misako hissed. "Now sit up. You look pathetic."

Cole's body remained where it was. His muscles refused to listen.

Misako pressed the button. "Get. Up."

As soon as the pain had passed, Cole pushed himself up. After what seemed like an eternal struggle, the man found himself back upon the seat. Misako smiled kindly, but all Cole was focused on was her thumb. She was stroking the red finger gently, anticipating the next chance she'd get to press it.

"Why does Garmadon want the virus? What exactly are your plans? How much do you know?" The woman's questions shot at Cole, one after the other, without exactly waiting for a response.

"You k-keep switching the q-questions," Cole said, shaking his head. "Sh-shouldn't I get a bit of ti-time to answer?"

Misako pressed the button. Cole screamed, holding tightly onto the sides of the chair. "Shouldn't you give me the answers, instead of wasting your breath?"

"N-not hap-happening."

Before the woman could press the button again, there was a loud _thud_ against the metal door of the room. The sound came again, stronger this time, almost as if someone was trying to knock the door down.

Cole allowed a glimmer of hope to overtake him. "F-friends."

* * *

Something wasn't right.

The place seemed empty. No guards. No alarms.

It was the perfect set up for an ambush.

Jay held his weapon before him, "I definitely smell a trap here, guys."

"They knew we'd come for him. They probably didn't even search for us in the sewers. She expected us to come running right into her arms." Kai shook his head, creating a small flame with his gloves. "And we are."

Zane remained quiet, scanning the courtyard for any possible threats. None. At least none that he could see. With a quiet nod, he led the guys forward, and through the main door. Everyone was holding their breath now, waiting. . .

"Do you think Garmadon tricked us?" Jay said, and Kai shook his head.

"No," he said. "I don't like him, but I don't think he'd play around when it comes to saving his son."

"The torture chambers and prison cells will be in the basement," Zane stated, pointing towards an elevator. "That is the fastest route. If Cole is here, that is where he will be."

"I don't think there's _anyone_ here," Jay said, shuddering. "This place is abandoned."

The _ping_ of the elevator echoed in the empty hallway. The three of them rushed inside. Kai's eyes wandered throughout the elevator, and goosebumps crawled across his skin. He felt as if someone were watching their every move. He could imagine Misako laughing to herself, watching the three of them from a computer screen, waiting to crush them as they continued to move forward.

The doors of the elevator opened.

And Kai was thrown back against the wall.

"About time!" A stranger's voice chuckled, as both Zane and Jay were thrown forward, out of the elevator. Kai held his stomach, trying to regain his breath. He squinted his eyes, but he saw no one. "I was getting bored down here."

Jay jumped up, dusting off his clothes and activating his weapon. "Are you a ghost?"

"Ghost? No, no, no. I'm far greater than that." There was a man now, standing at the end of the hallway, hands on his hips. Behind him, a locked door. "Name's Turner. Remember it well for when you run back to wherever you came from, crying for your mommy. Hmmm. Speaking of running."

The man disappeared. Or at least, that's what Kai thought at first. But there was a faint blur, accompanied by yet another punch to his gut. Turner was standing before him, smirking. He picked the mechanic up, throwing him out into the hall. Kai skidded on the floor. The elevator doors slid shut.

"Alright, now that we're all here, why don't we play a little game?" Turner laughed, and Kai watched him run forward, at an impossible speed. Less than a second later, he was back in front of the door. "Beat me, and you get the awesome prize behind door number one."

Jay's eyes widened. "Cole. . ."

"Otherwise, you all run back to wherever you came from, and never set foot in this place again, understood?"

Kai rubbed the palms of his hands, then shot a fireball straight at the man. Except he wasn't there anymore.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Turner smiled, now standing behind Kai. The mechanic swiveled around shooting fire. But once again, it was too late.

The man ran towards Jay now, swinging a punch faster than Jay could block. The blue-eyed man swung his electric staff around blindly, hoping to get a hit. "Stay still for a second, will you?"

"Like this?" Turner stopped running, sticking his tongue out at Jay. With a growl, the man swung his staff. Turner easily dodged it, then ran behind Jay, kicking the man's back. Jay fell to the ground, briefly zapping himself with his own staff. "Too slow!"

Zane stood back, watching everything unfold. He hadn't gotten back to his feet. Turner's attention span was as fleeting as the speed of his feet, and he'd seemed to have forgotten all about the robot. Turner was far too entertained at making Kai and Jay fall, trip, and make fools of themselves while swinging at nothing. Zane took careful aim, silently transforming his arm into the cannon Wu had given him.

"Aw man, I could do this for _days._ "

Kai swung again, but this time, he ended up punching Jay's jaw. Jay shouted in protest, and Kai shrugged apologetically. "There's gotta be a better way to-"

 _Boom!_

There was an explosion of ice. Turner's feet stood frozen. Jay opened his mouth to shout in triumph, but Kai turned the man's head, forcing him to see to consequences of Zane's shot. The fast man's feet were connected to Zane's cannon by a pillar of ice. And there, the robot himself lay frozen.

"Ouch," Jay cringed, "Guess he needs to work on the intensity of that cannon."

Turner struggled, trying to break free of his prison. Kai punched the man's stomach, smirking as he doubled over. "Who's slow now, huh?"

Rolling his eyes, Jay ran to the door. He twisted the handle, but there was a firm lock holding it shut. "Hey, Kai, a little help here please?"

* * *

" _Friends_ ," Misako mocked, chuckling.

The woman stood, turning the handle of the door and allowing it to swing open. Cole dared to look behind the now open door, and felt his hopes shatter. It was not his friends. No, it was a man. A thickly built man, with a black beard accentuating his cheekbones. His hands were hidden by two thick iron gloves. Cole guessed they must be heavy, but the man showed no concern.

"Ah, Karloff. You're here."

The man nodded his head. Misako pointed towards Cole. "Our little prisoner is being rather stubborn. I think perhaps a little bit of time in a cell might help him be a little bit more. . . polite."

Karloff forced Cole to his feet, pushing him out the door roughly. Cole fell against the floor, finding it hard to remain standing for too long. Using the wall as support, he regained his footing.

Misako handed Karloff the small remote. The man nodded, slipping the device into one of his pockets. "Oh, and Karloff? Please make sure our little friend here stays awake. We wouldn't want him to recover his strength now, would we?"

With a giggle, Misako closed the door of the room, blocking herself from Cole's view. The burly man pushed him forward again. "Come on _little friend_ , Karloff will show you your new home."

* * *

Kai and Jay slammed their bodies at the door in unison. The door shuddered, but did not budge. They tried again, and this time, the lock gave away, sending both men flying into the room.

The empty room.

From behind them, they could hear Turner's mocking laughter. "Did you _really_ think Misako was stupid enough to let you get your friend back?"

Jay looked frantically around the room, searching for a clue, something, _anything_ that could tell them where Cole was. "No, no, no. He's gotta be here. He can't. . . he can't. . ."

"They're long gone," Turner said. "And by the time you find her, your friend won't be there to welcome you."


	16. Ironfist

Chapter Sixteen: Ironfist

 _My name is Cole. Cole Brookstone. Formerly, I was a rock climbing instructor.  
_  
Cole was slumped against the cold stone wall, fighting the desire to sleep. He knew what would happen if he allowed his eyes to stay shut for too long. He watched Karloff, and Karloff watched him in return. The big man had his hand ready on Misako's small device. His finger stroking the red button in anticipation. _Swish, swish_.

 _I was recruited by a secret agency. There, I met my three teammates_.

He had to keep thinking. As long as there were words in his head, his eyes would remain open. Open, and burning. He allowed himself to blink, leaving his eyelids shut for as long as he dared.

 _Jay. Jay Walker. Funny name. He likes talking. A lot.  
_  
His grey eyes snapped back open before Karloff could react. Cole smirked. No, he wouldn't give Karloff the satisfaction. Not again. Each time Cole's head had slumped forward, the jolt of electricity had been accompanied by laughter. The man shook his head, tapping his fingers against his knees. Movement helped.

 _Kai. Kai. Stubborn. Very stubborn.  
_  
He didn't know how long he'd been there. Karloff had eventually left, leaving a girl with bright green hair in his place. Then the big, burly man had returned, his eyes bright, alert. He'd gone off to rest. Slept. A nice warm bed. Soft. Comfortable.

 _Zane. He's a robot. I can't quite wrap my head around the idea yet. A robot? A man? Yet both?  
_  
They'd switched a couple of times after that. And still, Cole hadn't been allowed to sleep. Had it been weeks? Days? Months, even? He didn't know. He _couldn't know_. Cole had tried counting seconds. One. Two. Three. Four. After that, the numbers had escaped him. He found himself muttering the same numbers over and over, until finally realizing it was useless.

 _We were sent after Pythor. Leader of a gang. Bad. He had something we needed.  
_  
Cole felt like he'd do anything in exchange for a couple of hours of sleep. Anything. Maybe even tell Misako the truth. Why not? It's not like his teammates were rushing in to rescue him. Maybe he'd been replaced already. And here he was, keeping quiet. Fighting a lost battle.

 _He had. . . something we needed. No. Not needed.  
_  
The man's thoughts blurred. He tried tapping his fingers again. It required focus. So. Much. Focus.

 _We didn't need it. Pythor. We needed. . . Pythor?  
_  
Cole blinked. Or at least he thought he did. But the darkness. The blissful, blissful darkness. It stopped the burning in his grey eyes. It lessened the pounding in his mind. It was sweet. It was welcoming. It was-

Pain.

Cole felt the shock surge through his body, snapping his eyes open. He shuddered uncontrollably for a few seconds, as Karloff enjoyed the shock in his eyes. Once it was over, Cole stayed still, trying to calm his breathing. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't sleep.

 _My name is Cole. Cole Brookstone. . ._

* * *

Wu's narrowed gaze traveled between each of the recruits before him equally, lingering only as long as it needed to. Jay seemed to be the most anxious. He visibly squirmed when Wu locked eyes with him, muscles in a quivering dance. Kai had his arms crossed over his chest, trying his hardest to just avoid the hammer of authority. Wu could see his eyes bounce around, immediately seeking shelter in another direction if they happened to cross paths with Wu's own. Then there was Zane. He was hard to read, but he stood as stoic as usual, an odd shadow of guilt blanketed across his features.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves," the man finally said, stroking his beard out of habit.

"For what?" Kai spoke up, his fingers gripping his arms for support. "For trying to go rescue one of our own? For bringing you back a prisoner that probably has useful information? Or for discovering that one of the most dangerous people in Ninjago happened to fall off your grid and you didn't notice? Because, honestly, I'm not ashamed by any of it."

Wu inhaled deeply. "You should be ashamed about going behind my back." The director of N.I.N.J.A.G.O clasped his hands behind him and stood sullen. "Despite the information you've learned and the prisoner you managed to acquire, you broke the trust between us." He settled on Zane again. "Especially you. You should know better than to throw yourself into a situation like that. Did you think to run the numbers? To try and stop them?"

"I did, sir," Zane said. "But you placed me with them for a reason. To train them. To look after them. To fight alongside them. And, since that was my primary objective, going to collect Cole fell underneath that." The android heard Kai give a short snort in response, turning to see a smirk crawl across his lips. "Besides, Kai and Jay would have most likely gone through with their plans without my involvement. I needed to give them my assistance and my presence was needed to subdue Griffin Turner."

Silence. It clung to the air for a while as Wu mulled over Zane's words. The robot was using loopholes to outsmart him. A mixture of pride and anger rested within him. Rogues were always dangerous. Garmadon had always been that way too, and the trouble he used to get into was unimaginable. _Garmadon_. "I assume you had something to do with this?" Wu asked, glancing over his shoulder. His brother stood as far away from the confrontation as he possibly could, leaning back against the wall.

"What makes you say that?"

Wu took that as a 'yes'. "You didn't want anything to do with them before. Why are you trying to get them killed _now_?"

Garmadon shrugged. "It's like the robot said, they weren't going to sit around and do nothing. There's nothing wrong with me giving them some helpful information to make everything a little easier on them."

"Yeah, he made it a _lot_ easier," Jay said, a small smile returning to his face. "Honestly, we probably would have spent days out there trying to find Misako's hideout if it weren't for Garmadon. We owe him a lot."

The elderly man shot Jay a cold look, immediately silencing him. "I stand by my decision, brother."

"Well, I'm happy you're starting to take a little bit of responsibility, Garmadon," Wu said. _It's about time you did_. He remembered the early days of the organization, before his father had handed him the reins. Garmadon was always being reckless, putting himself and other agents in danger, but he always kept a cool head about it all. Nothing was ever his fault. Wu shook away the bitterness. That was in the past. It didn't matter now. "And you three, you're now under house arrest, so to speak. Leave this facility without my permission, and I'll send you back to where you came from."

Kai's ears perked up. If he just broke one more rule, he'd be able to go back to Nya. It was enticing to say the least, his fingers drumming on his leg excitedly. But. . . there was still the matter of Cole. He couldn't just abandon Cole. Inhaling deeply, Kai let his eyes wander to the floor. He had to keep himself in check if he wanted to actually do any good. Besides, Misako still had the virus. She had to be stopped, and Kai would be much more useful to Nya if he was still here, fighting to protect her.

"Where are you gonna send Zane if he leaves?" Jay asked. "This is his home. You can't kick him out."

"I'll handle Zane appropriately," Wu answered, turning on his heel and leaving the room, Garmadon following close behind.

Kai and Jay finally relaxed, but noticed that Zane wasn't doing the same. Not that he ever seemed particularly relaxed. "You okay, buddy?" Jay asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about anything. We're not gonna do anything that'll get you in trouble anymore. _Right_ , Kai?"

The former mechanic nodded his head solemnly. "Right. We need each other now more than ever. I. . . I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize that. I promise."

Light returned to Zane's eyes. "Thank you."

* * *

"So, how are you liking it here?" Misako's voice snapped Cole out of his neverending thoughts. The grey-eyed man shook his head, looking up at the woman. A large, mocking smile tugged at her red lips. "I was thinking, maybe it was time for me and you to have a little chat again."

Cole sighed, forcing himself to stand. His heart protested, beating rapidly and quite painfully against his chest. His legs began to shake with the effort of holding himself up, but he tried to ignore it. He didn't want to show weakness. Not in front of Misako.

"I was hoping you'd be a little more willing to talk, now that you've realized your friends aren't coming for you." Karloff unlocked the door, pulling Cole forward and out. The rock climber tumbled, landing on his hands and knees. Misako pulled him to his feet. "You _do_ know that, right? They've abandoned you."

Cole didn't say anything. No, he didn't quite believe they were coming. It had been so long. Too long. Rescuing him was probably more of a hassle than they could handle.

Misako nodded, as if she could simply see the answer in his eyes. "Well, let's go. Maybe if you cooperate this time, I'll allow you a couple of minutes of sleep."

That sounded nice. Really, really nice. Cole felt as if he was willing to do anything in order to get those minutes of sleep. Anything.

She led him to a small room, with Karloff following not too far behind. Cole had to focus on each of his steps, counting them in his head, making sure he didn't trip. It was the same room as before. Cole shivered, remembering all the pain he'd had to deal with last time he was here. Karloff stopped outside the door, and Misako shut it. It was all the same as before.

"Now, Cole, please sit down."

Cole did. It was quite a relief. The chair was so much more comfortable than his cell had been. His eyes began to shudder. Cole shook his head, forcing himself to focus.

"Remember what I asked you last time? How about we try again?" Putting on her sweetest smile, Misako leaned forward. "Why were you with Pythor?"

The man opened his mouth. Then he thought better of it, and shut it again. He couldn't tell her the truth. Maybe his friends had replaced him. Maybe not. Either way, he couldn't do this to them. He couldn't blabber just because he needed a couple of minutes of sleep.

"Come on, Cole," Misako's smile was strained now. "Focus. Why were you with Pythor?"

Now that he thought of it, there was no way she'd keep her promise. Not really. Once he gave her all the information she needed, he'd wind up the same way as Pythor. Dead, dead, dead. The only reason she'd decided to keep him alive, was because of the information in his mind.

"How can I. . ." Cole frowned, trying to think of the words. "How can I know you won't kill me?"

Misako leaned back against her chair, sighing. "Cole, you are-"

The man didn't find out what he was. At that moment, Karloff pushed open the door. No knocking this time. Cole chuckled to himself, remembering how he'd expected his friends to be on the other side.

"I'm sorry," Karloff bowed his head. "But the others. They've captured Turner."

Cole's eyes lit up with hope. Misako's eyes filled with anger.  
" _Turner_?" The woman stood, walking towards the door. In the last second, she turned, facing Cole. "You will stay right here. Try anything, and I'll make sure you regret it."

With those words, Karloff and Misako exited the room. Cole sat very still, waiting. He could feel himself beginning to doze off again. The others had captured Turner? Cole didn't know who Turner was. but he could guess who 'the others' were. Maybe his friends _hadn't_ forgotten about him after all.

"You have to get out, Cole," he told himself, forcing himself out of his chair. "If the others are coming, you might as well meet them halfway."

He walked to the door, slowly placing his hand against the handle. It would be locked, wouldn't it? Cole began to turn the it, waiting for the resistance, waiting for his plan to be come impossible.

The door swung open.

Cole almost laughed, but he pressed his hand against his mouth in order to muffle the sound. Misako was cocky. Way, way too cocky. She thought she'd broken Cole. She thought he would listen to anything she said.

Or maybe she knew he wouldn't get far.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, and focusing instead on his escape, Cole ran forward. He kept seeing strange shapes out of the corner of his eyes, but each time he turned, they would vanish.

"You're just tired, Cole," he told himself. "Very, very tired."

A map. He had to find a map. Or a window. Or something other than endless corridors with doors that led to nowhere in particular. A shadow jumped towards him, and Cole's body jolted as he turned his head to face whatever was after him. There was nothing. Nothing but a heavy feeling in his muscles and a burning sensation in his eyes.

Cole continued to run, turning whenever he thought he heard voices. He felt as if he were going in circles. Regret began to sink into his stomach. Once Misako found him. . .

"Cole."

It was Misako's voice. The man jumped, feeling his stomach twist with fear. He turned. Left. Right. There was no one around.

"I am very displeased with you."

This time, Cole's head snapped up, to the small speaker resting against the wall. That was the source of Misako's voice. She didn't know where he was. Not yet.

"I thought you knew better." He heard her sigh. "But I guess I was hoping for too much, wasn't I?"

Cole pushed a door open. Inside, was a room, same as the one Misako had tortured him in. He closed the door behind him. He had to hide.

"You'll learn your lesson." Cole could almost hear the smile in her voice, as he cuddled against the room's darkest corner. "Once my dear friend Ironfist finds you."

Ironfist? Maybe she was referring to Karloff. He couldn't remember if anyone had ever called him that. But then again, he couldn't remember much of anything. There was a soft buzzing in his ears, and his head felt very, very heavy. Cole knew they would find him. He knew that staying still was the worst thing he could possibly do. But he couldn't move. He was too tired.

Doors began to slam open. They sounded close. Cole covered his mouth, trying to stifle his breathing. _Bam!_ Another door, closer still. Cole closed his eyes, readying himself for whatever happened next. He would be found, he knew that much. But what would they do to him? What could possibly be worse than what he'd already endured?

 _Bam!_

The door to his own room slammed open. He pressed himself further against the wall. Maybe the man wouldn't spot him?

But he already had. Cole squinted against the darkness as an unfamiliar shadow walked towards him. But the closer the man walked, the more Cole realized that he had seen him before. Somewhere. He racked his brain for answers, trying to place a name to the person before him. He looked like. . . Cole shook his head, as his mind finally clicked. Familiar features blended together, forming a name in his mind. As the man reached down to grab him, Cole's eyes widened.

"You're. . ."

* * *

"And you're telling us all of this stuff now?" Kai raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed defensively. "You know we're basically trapped here, right? If we leave, we're going to get in trouble." It had been a few days since Wu had gathered them all, and time had never passed slower. Every minute felt like an eternity, and Cole was still out there, in the hands of the enemy. If he wasn't already dead.

"I'm telling you this because Wu told me to," Garmadon answered. "Now you three can come with me and actually listen to what he has to say, or you can sit around and play with your weapons like you have been." The elderly man started walking away, but stopped and turned his head. "I don't think your friend would appreciate it if you ignored an opportunity to rescue him."

Jay immediately shot forward, wasting no time in following Garmadon out of the room. Kai and Zane exchanged weary glances before chasing after Jay. The hall to the security room wasn't a long one, but Kai rubbed his eyes as they walked, trying to erase the illusion that the hall continuously stretched on. He hadn't been sleeping the best over the past few days, his mind constantly thinking and wondering while he was physically unable to do anything about it.

The security door slid open with a soft _whoosh_ and the four entered to see Wu standing behind Neuro. Screens were lit up with images blueprints and maps of Ninjago. Wu tore his eyes away from whatever he was looking at and smiled. "Ah, thank you for retrieving them for me , brother." Garmadon just nodded and stood across the room like he usually did, observing. "I assume he told you that we've located Misako's new hideout?"

Zane nodded. "He did indeed. Why tell us? You told us we were not allowed to leave."

"Without my permission," Wu corrected, clasping his hands behind his back. "If I wasn't willing to let you leave, I wouldn't have divulged this information to you." The smile on Jay's face lifted Wu's spirits. They had been punished long enough, and it was time for them to get back out there. "We originally tried getting information out of Turner, but he wasn't willing to tell us anything, unsurprisingly. However, Neuro managed to trace a signal from a tracking device on Cole's person."

Kai felt his stomach drop. He'd completely forgotten about the tracking device. Zane had given it to Cole along with the communication device. Why hadn't they thought about it earlier? _Because who would have thought Misako missed that._ "Where is he? Is he still alive?"

Wu held his hands out. "Calm down. We know where he is and that's enough. The active signal fizzled out a few days ago, but we've been working with the residual information we have. The question now stands: are you willing to go out and get him?"

"Of course," Jay said. What kind of stupid question was that?

"That's what I like to hear. But you must remember, this isn't a game anymore. This is Misako's hideout. She's there, right now. She has henchmen, weapons, and the virus. Anything can happen and everything can end up going terribly wrong."

Jay's smile disappeared, replaced with the most stoic look Kai had ever seen. "It's a risk we have to take."


	17. Rescue

Chapter Seventeen: Rescue

Jay knew he should be nervous. And he was. Slightly nervous at any case.

Most of his mind was running around the idea of how amazingly cool he felt. Wearing a black vest, a white button up shirt, and a blue bowtie, Jay felt as if he could take on all of Misako's henchmen and more. He kept bouncing his weapon from one hand to the other, shooting blue sparks every once in a while.

"Would you _stop_?" Kai hissed, after once again Jay momentarily activated his weapon. The blue eyed man stuck his tongue out at Kai, but shoved his weapon back into its holster. Kai sighed, opening and closing his fists. "We don't need to draw attention to ourselves any sooner than we have to."

"Who died and made _you_ leader?" Jay scoffed, but remained silent, watching the building before them.

On the outside, it didn't seem like much. A simple warehouse with boarded up windows and locked metal doors. It didn't seem all that impossible to break into. A swift kick in the right places, and the window would give away easily. Or maybe Zane would be able to pick on of the door's lock.

But Zane knew better. He'd stopped them from running headfirst into a trap, or from setting off an alarm the moment they stepped inside. He was now silently studying the building, using his mind to create a basic outline of what might be on the inside.

Misako was cocky, but not reckless. Security cameras would no doubt be tracking their every move if they weren't able to find paths around them. There were guards stalking the corridors, he could make out faint outlines of a few near the exterior of the building, but his sensors weren't strong enough to penetrate any deeper. They'd have to make sure they were careful not to alert any of her goons, but Zane was more concerned with traps than with people. Throughout the four floors of the warehouse that he could make out, the android was positive that there would be subtle triggers waiting to take them out at any minute: lasers, trip wires, gas; Zane didn't want to spend anymore time than he needed preparing for the worst. It'd be much easier to just expect something could go wrong and try to be cautious enough to avoid that expectation.

"Our best bet for entry is going to be on the second floor," the android finally said, startling his companions by suddenly breaking the silence. "Jay, if you and I can boost Kai up, he should be able to pry away some of the boards enough to then use his gloves to super heat the glass windows. We can use that to actually enter the building and start finding our way towards Cole."

Jay clapped his hands together. "Sounds good to me! Let's do this!" He enthusiastically raced over to the warehouse, planting his back firmly against the exterior wall and shifting his eyes around. "Coast is clear," he whispered loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth before gesturing for his teammates to follow him.

"We know it's clear," Kai sighed, trudging towards Misako's lair. "We made sure of that before we even got _this_ close." Zane clapped his hands reassuringly on Kai's back as they finally approached Jay. Inhaling deeply, the mechanic tilted his head back and took in the vast size of the building before him. An ominous feeling suddenly overwhelmed him as the gravity of their situation came crashing down. Cole was in there. Misako was in there. The deadly virus was somewhere in there. And there were people with guns. And other things probably ready to kill them at a moment's notice. His hands shook slightly with adrenaline and fear as Jay cleared his throat loudly, bringing Kai back to reality.

"Are you gonna climb up or what?"

Kai blinked, noticing Jay was already standing on Zane's shoulders, his hand extended as far down as he could manage. Nodding in silence, Kai took Jay's hand and muttered several apologies under his breath as he used Zane as a step ladder, getting as much height as he could before he had to solely rely on Jay for help. The blue eyed man grabbed Kai's shoulders for stability as Kai swallowed hard, shimming towards the warehouse wall as quickly as his body would allow. Using the rough texture as a hand hold, the mechanic felt Jay push up on his lower back, trying to lift him higher. Kai pushed against the wall with his shoes until he felt the solidity of Jay's shoulders under his boots. The tower of people beneath him wobbled as Kai gripped the wall and straightened himself completely. He had to do get through the window as quickly as possible, before they all fell back to the ground.

Holding his breath, Kai pulled on one of the boards, feeling it creak and bend under the pressure. With a crack that sent a chill down his spine, the board snapped and Kai dropped the remains, his heart pounding in his chest. He heard Jay give an angry protest as the wood smacked his head. "Sorry," Kai muttered softly, repeating the same process with another board angled awkwardly across the window. With the two boards out of the way, they'd have no trouble fitting through any opening Kaicould manage to make.

He rubbed his hands together, a large flame springing to life in the mechanic's right hand. Letting out the breath he'd been holding, Kai placed his hands against the window and kept pressing against it harder and harder as the seconds ticked by. It felt odd, his hands slowly moving through the glass until he'd broken through to the other size. Kai placed his hand on another area of the glass, the work becoming shorter the longer his flame stayed lit. Within a matter of minutes, he'd made a lopsided, yet effective, opening for all of them to crawl through. Clapping his hands together, the mechanic smothered the flame and shimmied through the window, turning back only to hold his hands out towards Jay.

Zane held on to Jay's legs as he took Kai's hand. The lift was long and hard, none of them quite having the strength that Cole did, but Kai managed to pull Jay through the window with Zane in tow. "I wish that'd been easier," the brunet said, his breathing labored. He collapsed on to the floor, his arms and shoulders shaking. If he hurt so much now, he'd definitely be incapacitated by the next morning. _Cole better be at this place. I don't know if I can handle another rescue mission after this._

There was a hand on Kai's back, urging him into a sitting position. It was Zane, a finger to his lips. "We must remain quiet. There are guards above us right now and it is only a matter of time before they find their way down here. We do not want to give them a reason to speed up their rounds." Kai only nodded in response as Zane helped him to his feet. "No, please, no one move around too much. I have a bad feeling so I want to check the area before we continue down towards Cole."

"Down?" Jay asked. "What makes you so sure that he's down and not up?"

"I scanned the building, Jay," Zane said plainly. "There were more heat signatures towards the bottom than the top. Prisoners are not generally kept where there is not security."

Kai took in the sights around him as Jay and Zane talked in hushed voices. Everything was stark white. The tiled floor gleamed so intensely, the fluorescent lights from above reflected like the sun. The walls were blank and he scanned the ceiling with his light brown eyes, expecting to see security cameras staring back at him, but he couldn't find any. What did that mean? Were they in the middle of a-

"Stay still," Zane said, confirming Kai's thoughts. He'd taken the cannon attached to his arm and sprayed the area before them with a blast of what Kai could only describe as snow. The small ice crystals fluttered through the air, refracting faint red lights as they passed through. . . "It is a laser grid. I will go through first so I can figure out a safe path. You two, please stay close to me."

He knew it was too good to be true. Kai let Jay immediately follow Zane as they ducked underneath one of the shimmering lasers. His heart was tight in his chest. What would happen if they touched these things? Kai gingerly raised his foot over one he'd almost missed. _Keep yourself focused. Don't slip up now_. What the lasers hurt them? Or would they just trigger an alarm. He stopped dead in his tracks, sweat trickling down the side of his face. His hair. He had to remember to duck further down. If his hair was responsible for his team's downfall, Kai didn't know if he'd be able to forgive himself.

It all became instinctual. Move to the side. Duck. Lift a foot. Minutes dragged on into what felt like hours until Kai finally saw Jay stand up straight and stretch his arms behind him. The stress immediately left Kai's body, and he could feel his arms shaking from the weight he'd pulled earlier. They needed to keep going. He needed the adrenaline to keep himself focused and grounded.

They pressed their backs up against a wall as Zane peered around the corner. Guards passed by the hallway they were in, clothed completely in black, semi automatic assault rifles gripped tightly in their hands. Kai watched Jay tense up, his hands shaking slightly as the guards walked right by them, not even bothering to look. The mechanic was more than grateful, but a small voice in the back of his mind was telling him that this was too easy. _What if she already knows you're in here and she's just playing with her prey?_ No. There was no way Misako knew they were inside. Zane was cautious and careful. He'd taken everything into account. If they'd been compromised, he would have known.

"Let us go quietly," Zane whispered, gesturing for the other two to follow him.

The hallway seemed a lot longer than it actually was. It felt like a bad dream. Kai's doubt and paranoia was starting to get the better of him. His eyes scanned around for security cameras that he just couldn't find. He turned around, thinking he saw people creeping up behind him, only to find that no one was there. Was this too easy, or were they just better than he thought they were?

As the thought passed through Kai's head, he felt something push into his back. His muscles tightened as a hand grabbed his shoulder and a rough voice spoke to him softly. "Try anything funny, and I'll put this bullet in your back right now." His breath caught in his throat, a strangled gasp. Zane and Jay continued to walk away from him while he was stuck, incapacitated. _Help_ , his mind screamed desperately. _Guys, I'm back here._

Kai kicked the guy behind him in the knee, feeling him loosen his grip and the gun that had been pressed into his back fall away. Without hesitating, he sprinted towards his teammates.

Jay heard rushed footsteps coming from behind and his hand was on his staff immediately. He pulled it from its holster, separating it into the nunchucks he liked so much. Kai's face was flushed as he sped down the hallway, a single guard following him closely behind, his gun armed and ready. With wide eyes, Jay danced around Kai and headed straight towards the guard. They couldn't let anyone know they were here. They couldn't get caught, for Cole's sake. He grit his teeth together as he spun the weapon in his hands, sparks firing from the ends. With speed even he didn't know he was capable of, Jay brought the nunchucks down on the guards head, watching him bow to the blow he'd taken and tremble from the electricity coursing through his body.

As quickly as all the chaos had started, it ended, the guard unconscious on the hallway floor.

Jay grinned and tried to hold back a laugh. That had been so exhilarating! And no one had gotten hurt. . . except for the guard, but he didn't matter. His team did. "Are you okay, Kai?" he asked the brunet, watching him mutely nod in response.

"That was dangerous, Jay," Zane chastised. "We do not know when he will come to now. We need to find our way to Cole as quickly as possible now. The stairs should be just around the corner, but try not to blow our cover before we can get there."

* * *

Cole's eyes had tricked him. He was sure of it.

There was no way he'd seen what he thought he'd seen. _Who_ he'd thought he'd seen. His mind was blurred and broken from lack of sleep. Hallucinations were bound to happen at one point or another. No. It had been Karloff. Or maybe the purple haired guard, playing tricks with his mind as she took someone else's form.  
That had to be it. He hadn't-

"You will _look_ at me when I am speaking to you," Misako hissed. Cole's cheek began to sting, warmth flooding through the left side of his face. It wasn't until seconds later that he realized Misako had slapped him. "I don't appreciate you trying to run away."

Cole remained silent, locking his grey eyes onto her bright green ones. His tongue was heavy. Words were hard to form. And even if he _did_ manage to say something, it wouldn't be of much use. Not really.

Misako shook her head, stepping back, almost out of Cole's cell. Then man sat still, watching, waiting for her next words. Cole noticed there was a dull ache throughout his hole body, and he vaguely remembered the so called Ironfist beating him down, until Misako had ordered him to stop. Cole knew he would soon be cloaked in bruises. Ironfist. Flashes of him returned to Cole. He knew who it was. He knew. Flashes of features, all too familiar features, sparked up recognition. But at the same time, it couldn't be.

"Soon, your mind will waste away," Misako finally said, shaking her head. She proceeded to walk out of Cole's cell, pushing the door shut. Karloff waited patiently behind her, his thick arms folded upon one another. "And when your mind is fully broken. . . I _will_ have my answers."

With the rhythmic clicking of her heels against the ground, Misako walked down the hall, and out of Cole's sight.

The black haired man leaned against the wall, his eyes burning with the desire to sleep. He focused on his breathing, clinging onto anything he could to remain awake. His brief attempt to escape Misako's clutches seemed pathetic now, and the bit of his hope that had endured so much began to break away slowly.

He hoped the others would finish the mission. That way, Cole wouldn't have come apart for nothing. With a bit of a frown, the man began to wonder why they had decided to leave him behind. Perhaps it had been Wu's decision. Had the others even fought to come rescue him? Or had they bowed their heads and agreed?

Cole tilted his head. There were a couple of familiar shadows creeping down the hall.

Had Misako returned already? Had she found another method to force the answers out of Cole's mouth? The man stiffened, his hands turning into fists.

No. These shadows were different. One almost looked like. . . One almost looked like Jay.

He shook his head. It couldn't be. They'd left him for dead and he knew it. But as the strange shapes began to draw closer, a small flame of hope began to warm Cole's heart.

* * *

He couldn't stop his feet from going. Jay sped down the hallway that Zane had cleared faster than he thought he could. His footsteps made small noised on the floor, but he didn't care at the moment. These were definitely cells, and he knew who was probably in one of them.

As he passed each metal door, he quickly looked through the inlaid window, searching for any movement. Looking for a sign that his friend was inside. Nothing. Door after door, Jay turned up empty handed. His stomach was beginning to sink as the end of the hallway steadily approached. What would they do if Cole _wasn't_ here? Where could they try and look for him next? Jay shook the thoughts from his head. Cole was here. He had to be.

"Jay, you need to calm down," Kai hissed. "We're gonna find him, but it's not gonna help if we get caught and just tossed into one of these things before that happens."

"I know that," he argued back, rolling his blue eyes. "We're not gonna get caught, Kai. Just relax and-" His sentence was cut short as he laid his eyes upon the person they'd been looking for. "Cole!" Jay couldn't hide the utter relief in his voice. The rock climber was limply leaning against the back wall of the cell, his dark hair hanging over his eyes. "Cole, Cole! It's use! We're here to get you out! Just. . . give us a second." He turned to Zane and Kai who had finally caught up to him. "He's in here, guys! We found him! He's alive!"

Cole looked up, his head heavy, but heart hammering with excitement. They were really here. His friends. His teammates. They'd actually come to rescue him. With shaky legs, Cole got to his feet. "You're. . . here."

"Of course we're here!" Jay smiled brightly, almost bringing tears to Cole's eyes. He hadn't seen a friendly smile in what seemed like years. His eyes drifted over towards Kai, whose eyes were filled with almost laughter. How bad did he look?

The rock climber slumped against the cell walls, supporting himself in order to stay upright. As he looked back at the guys, trying to shake off his disbelief, his eyes caught another shape. A large, familiar shape looming over his teammates, cloaked in darkness. Cole's grey eyes widened. Karloff.

"Guy's there's-" His words were cut short as Karloff brought his heavy finger down on the red button. Shuddering with random spasms, Cole fell to the ground.

"Karloff not going to let _anyone_ out."


	18. It's You

Chapter Eighteen: It's You

Jay felt a ringing in his ears, and his cheeks burned bright red. Strong waves of anger ran through his body as he watched Cole's knees hit the floor of the cell. His arms tensed around his weapon, finger instinctively activating it.

"No one hurts my friend, beard face." The blue eyed man said, thrusting his weapon forward. "How about a taste of your own medicine?"

As the shock of electricity jolted through Karloff's body, Jay kept the weapon against the man's skin. His brow was furrowed, eyes focused on his target. Each time his arms began to relax, the pain in Cole's face drove him forward. How many times had the man before him done that? What else had they done to Cole? How many other people had suffered through Misako's orders?

"Jay, that's enough," Zane growled, a slight threat in his usually soft voice.

Kai reached forward, grabbing hold of Jay's shoulders and pulling him back. The man's weapon fell from his shaking fingers, clattering against the floor. Seconds later, it was joined by Karloff's unconscious body. Kai kept his hands on Jay's shoulders until the man finally stopped shaking.

"I'm sorry." Jay shook his head keeping his eyes low." I just. . . He. . . And it's just so. . . And I. . . "

Kai shook his head. "Trust me, I wanted to bash his face in as badly as you did. You just happened to get there first."

Cole worked on steadying his breath, not wanting to worry the others any more than necessary. He stood, once again leaning against the bars of the cell. He eyed Jay's weapon with a slight hint of fear, knowing all too well the pain it could cause. He shook his head, meeting the eyes of his teammates. "You guys are here. Really here."

"Of course we're here," Jay answered, his hands still shaking from the sheer amount of adrenaline that still flooded his body. "We've been trying to find you since she took you, Cole."

Kai slowly walked over to the bars of the cell and rubbed his gloved hands together. A fire sprung to life and he grabbed the bars, watching as the polished metal slowly turned red. As the bars grew more malleable, Kai used the strength he could muster to start pulling them apart as much as he could. Minutes passed by excruciatingly slow as the process continued. He didn't want to make a lot of noise in case any guards were preparing to start their rounds. Of course, Jay could probably take care of them if worse came to worse.

"You've really been looking for me since I've been gone?" The question sounded foreign to Cole. It didn't even sound like it had come from his own mouth. The voice that had spoken held a little more strength than he'd thought possible. As he stared at his teammates on the other side of the door, their images danced and wavered until he blinked. That made his sight a little better, but he still wanted sleep. The burning desire was returning with a vengeance, the first time he'd thought about it since everyone had showed up.

"Ha, we got in trouble because Zane managed to sneak us out and we went to her old hideout. You weren't at that one, obviously," Jay said, finally bending down to pick up his weapons. Karloff's expressionless face stared back at him as he did so, sending an unwanted chill down his spine. Jay saw the very shallow rise and fall of the man's chest. See? You didn't kill him. He's just sleeping, his thoughts calmly told him, but it didn't erase the sick feeling churning in his stomach. His anger had been uncontrollable, something he'd never quite felt before. At least, not to that extent.

"Alright, I got it," Kai said, finally pulling the cell bars apart enough to make an entrance. He extinguished the flame in his hands and gingerly stepped into Cole's prison. "Let's get you out of here, buddy."

Cole tore himself away from the wall and stumbled forward. Kai caught him, trying to hold up his body. The collar around Cole's neck hit Kai's collar bone hard. "Ow. . . let's get this thing off you before it hurts you again."

His words buzzed around in Cole's mind. Each syllable an echo of the pain he'd felt prior. "Please. . ." It was a soft plea, but a plea none the less. With heavy eyes, Cole watched as Kai wrapped his hands around the object and tried to pull it. The metal ring's strength never felt more concrete. Cole's heart sank deeper. His friends had come to save him, something he had started to lose faith in, yet despite everything, he was still a prisoner.

"It's got, like, a lock on it. Little tiny buttons on the side," Kai said, squinting. "I don't think I can do anything with it."

"Oh, oh, I'll try and get it off," Jay said, rushing into the cell. "Something like this should be easy. I've probably tinkered on something similar before." As he hurried towards Cole, his weapon dangled from his right hand. The rock climber saw it and flinched, breaking free of Kai's grip and falling to the floor in a heap, his grey eyes never wavering from it. "Cole, are you okay?"

"I think you freaked him out with your stunt back there," Kai said, rolling his eyes.

Jay's face fell and he took a few steps back. The fear and uncertainty in Cole's eyes made Jay's blood run cold. "O-Okay," he said, conceding defeat. He made his way to the edge of the cell. If he couldn't help Cole, at least he could keep watch while everyone else lent a hand.

"I should be able to remove it," Zane said, kneeling beside Cole. His nimble fingers carefully running along the small buttons, studying them. "It will take me a few minutes."

"A few minutes?" Kai asked, crossing his arms, unimpressed. "I thought hacking was when you typed on a keyboard really quickly and then told everyone 'I'm in'."

Zane ignored this, blinking purposefully. His vision changed, allowing him to see the wires and mechanisms inside the device. A quick press here. He followed the wires with his eyes, watching them twist and turn around each other. Zane hit another one of the buttons. Misako hadn't been messing around. This was technology he'd only ever seen Neuro examining in weapon prototypes. Another button. "I am almost finished, I promise." One more wire. It twisted around a bundle and ended right where. . . "There."

The collar made a slight hissing sound as the seam separated, falling to the ground with a loud thump.

A small smile tugged up on Cole's lips, and he rubbed his hands around his neck. The skin there was slightly tender, with a couple of red lines running across the parts where the collar had put the most pressure. The rock climber felt every bit of his body begin to relax. He was free.

The image of his friends before him shuddered, reminding him that he was still in very, very much need of sleep. His footsteps were slow and weak, but with Kai and Zane by his side he had no problem with moving forward.

Jay led the way, trying to wipe the look of fear Cole had given him from his mind. He'd done what he had to. And the big bearded man had deserved it too. It was either him, or watching Cole get hurt again. Right?

Whatever helps you sleep at night, his own inner voice mocked him.

"So, how exactly are we going to get Cole out?" Jay finally said, trying to distract his mind. "I'm pretty sure he can't climb out the window. He doesn't look so hot."

Cole chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Jay's right. I'm dead weight. I don't know how much I can do."

"Well we can't very well waltz out of the front door," Kai said. He stopped walking, turning his head to look at Zane. The robot frowned, quickly analyzing their surroundings. "Any ideas, metal man?"

"Every exit and entrance is as guarded as the last. We'll just have to try to hurry. I'll send a message to Wu, so they'll be waiting just outside the building." Zane sighed. "If we wanna get Cole out, that's our only option."

His eyes suddenly widened. "You want to push your way through everyone?" Cole asked, allowing Kai and Zane to move him forward. What choice did he have anyway? "I just told you, I don't know if I can help you guys. Why would you want to do that?" Had his friends learned nothing from Karloff? Granted, Jay had taken him down in no time at all, but still. Misako played rough. The guards would most likely do the same.

"We don't have a choice," Kai sighed, feeling Cole's grip on him tighten. His friend's steps were becoming slower, but he urged him along. "You'll be able to rest and heal when we get you out of here. I'm sorry."

Their hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, keeping Jay on edge. There really wasn't too much of a need to be sneaky, the guards would find them soon enough if they hadn't discovered their presence already, but a part of him still felt like they should stay as quiet as possible. As he poked his head around the corner, checking for any sign of an enemy, Jay tightened his hand around his weapon. Would he even be able to fight if they were attacked? He knew he was more than capable of it now, but at what cost?

"I have left a message for Wu," Zane said, readjusting his hold on Cole. "Neuro should notify him immediately and then send him to us."

"As long as the cavalry is coming, I'm fine with pushing our way through all these guards," Kai smirked.

Jay had to agree. It was nice knowing that they were going to have a getaway car waiting for them. It made the fighting easier to bare. Or it would if we were actually pushing our way through waves of guards, he thought. Wait a second. . . "Is it weird that we haven't run into anyone else yet?"

Cole's heart was beating faster. It was all too easy. There were cameras situated here and there, but he knew that security had been strengthened ever since he'd tried to escape. Since I tried to escape. "Guys, there was something I forgot to tell you," Cole said, his mind running wild. "I didn't think you were coming and I found a chance to get out, but Misako was just toying with me. She sent-"

"Shhh, I think I heard something," Jay interrupted. He gestured for his team to stay where they were as he peered around another corner. Nothing. "Hmm, I guess he didn't hear anything. Sorry, guys, false alarm." A shadow suddenly crossed his path and Jay looked up, noticing someone he hadn't before. "Uh. . . actually, false false alarm. . ."

Cole's legs shuddered, as he recognized the figure before them. "Ironfist."

"What did-" Kai's words were stopped short as the man before him delivered a strong punch to his gut. The man flew back, his body slamming hard against the cold metal wall.

Zane let go of Cole, stepping in front of him as their enemy turned their attention on them. The robot began to shift his arms into the ice cannons, but before he could get very far, the shape before him grabbed onto his arm, swinging him out of the way.

Ignoring the voice of guilt that still clung to him, Jay activated his weapon, running towards the shadowy figure. He swung.

The man ducked without effort, then delivered a strong kick into Jay's unprotected stomach. As Jay's breath left him, he coughed, falling onto his knees. The world swam in and out of focus, and he watched as their enemy walked closer and closer towards Cole.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." A voice echoed on the opposite side of the hall, accompanied by the clicking of heels against the marble floor. "Cole, I thought we were over the whole escape thing."

Kai stumbled back, regaining his footing and staring down at the woman before him. "Misako."

"Oh good, you know me. That saves us the hassle of introductions, yes?" Misako smiled sweetly at Kai, before turning to the guard who'd so easily knocked them down. "I'm very proud of you, sweetie. Now, maybe if his friends get a little hurt, Cole here would be a little more willing to share information."

"You'll learn nothing from him," Kai scowled, taking Cole's hand and pulling him towards them.

"Oh, won't I? Hm. Then I guess it's rather pointless to let any of you live then."

Jay cringed, tightening his hand on his weapon. Zane stood beside his team, silently watching everything unfold, analyzing every bit of the so called 'Ironfist'. There was something rather familiar about him.

"Guess not," Kai hissed, refusing to show any sort of fear.

"Ironfist," Misako said, folding her arms behind her back. "Kill them."

A hesitation flashed through the man's eyes. There was a slight frown on his thin eyebrows, and for a moment, Kai thought he would open his mouth to protest. But then it had gone, and a firm resigned look took its place.

Kai rubbed his gloves, throwing a ball of flame at their opponent. Once again, the man's reflexes were too fast. He ducked, then swung a strong kick at Kai's legs. The mechanic crashed onto the ground. Without stopping to breathe, he grabbed Jay's shirt, swinging him forward and knocking him down on top of Kai.

"Not nice," Jay cringed, hugging his stomach. There was definitely a strong ache each time he tried to breathe. "Who is that?"

Cole stumbled towards his friends, trying to focus, trying to call forth at least a bit of adrenaline to help him fight. But there was nothing. His muscles were too weak, and his mind was too numb. He managed to reach down, aiming to help Jay back to his feet.

"Cole, watch out!" The blue eyed man jumped up, pushing Cole out of the way of another of the man's blows. The punch sent Jay's body back, his head smacking against the wall with a sickening thud. This time, the man didn't get up.

"Jay!" Cole shouted, then turned towards their enemy. "You. . . you'll pay for this."

The man rolled his eyes, easily pushing the rock-climber out of the way. Zane, attempting to take advantage of the distraction, transformed his arm into the powerful ice cannons. Before he could take a shot, however, the man swiveled around, sending a sturdy kick against the metal. Parts of it shattered, and a shower of sparks cloaked the robot's body.

Now fueled with anger, Kai growled, pushing himself forward. He swung a punch towards the man's face. The attacked was blocked, but Kai didn't slow. He kept pushing forward, using nothing but instinct until, finally, finally, one of his blows hit home.

The man staggered, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Kai smirked. Misako shot a disapproving look at the guard.

Kai swung a kick towards the man's stomach, hoping to catch him off guard once more. But the so called Ironfist was more than ready. He took hold of Kai's leg, then flipped the mechanic down towards the ground. Kai's back hit the floor with full force. Darkness swam in and out of his vision.

The man leaned down, grabbing Kai by the shirt and slowly pulling him up. The mechanic frowned, his eyes running over the features of his enemy. Recognition flashed across his face.

"It's. . . It's you."

* * *

"I just received a message from Zane," Wu said, walking into Neuro's small office. Different images flashed on the screen, as Neuro typed on the oversized keyboard. "They've found Cole. But they're requesting an escape vehicle. Seems the boy is in no shape to fight."

Garmadon chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I figured that much. Misako wasn't always the nicest to her guests."

"Well it'll be no problem to pick them up now that we have the coordinates," Wu continued, pouring a bit of tea into a small blue cup. "Then we'll allow Cole to recover."

"Picking them up won't be an issue, no." Neuro agreed, turning on his chair to face the other two men. "Getting them out might prove a bit difficult, seeing as to how Misako has engineered a new 'super soldier' to fight for her. Ironfist, they're calling him."

"Ironfist?" Wu raised an eyebrow, inviting Neuro to continue.

"Yes," Neuro nodded. "You know, the strange virus she tempted Pythor with? It was part of her experiment. Some sort of substance that. . . seems to accelerate growth. She must have used it on one of her soldiers."

The man turned around again. "I managed to capture some images from Misako's security cameras, before she found out I'd hacked her. He doesn't seem like much, I must say, but Misako is. . . well she's definitely not stupid. I'd bet he'll be a big threat for our newbies."

"Images?" Garmadon leaned forward, curious as ever. "Well, let's see this 'super-soldier' then."

Garmadon's request was followed by more of Neuro's rapid typing. Then an image took over the screen. Wu's fingers shook, the cup slipping from his fingers, shattering.

Garmadon blinked. Once. Twice. He shook his head, hoping his eyes were lying, hoping, but knowing the truth all the same. He looked different. Very different. But he'd know that face anywhere. The bright green eyes. Wavy blonde hair. The features that now, as he'd aged, had begun to resemble Garmadon's own.

"It's Lloyd."


	19. Garmadon's Kid

**I, Kiwi, take full responsibility for the length and lateness of this chapter. School has been hitting me really hard this semester and I haven't been able to focus on writing in general: whether it be for an actual class (I have three different classes I need to write for weekly) or for projects here on Fanfiction. My lack of inspiration and motivation has taken a big toll on this project, and I cannot apologize for that enough. I'm sorry.**

 **This was all TombRaiderNinja, because credit has to be given where credit is due.**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Garmadon's Kid

"We have to go. Now. Your stupid recruits might hurt my son." Garmadon hissed, stomping towards the door. He slammed the door open with a reverberating _thud_. Wu followed his agitated brother down the hall. He was forced to run a couple of steps before finally reaching him.

"Remember what happened last time you rushed-"

"Bullet wounds don't heal in a couple of days. Trust me, _brother_ , I remember quite clearly." Garmadon stepped into the weapons room with a determined pace, reaching for his personal handgun. For a moment, his eyes lingered upon the tranquilizers, but the man shook his head. Misako had gone too far. This was war. "But I won't be alone, will I? Your rookies will be there. And. . . Lloyd. I just have to get there before they try to hurt him."

"I'm sure Lloyd is capable of taking care of himself now . . ." Wu'so eyes lowered, and his voice softened. "Misako changed him. He. . . He might not remember you. We have no idea what her little experiment might have done to his mind."

Garmadon flinched, his hands tightening into fists. "He'll remember. He has to. Either way. . . I'm going to save my son. You can't stop me. You might be the leader, but you're still the younger sibling."

"Stop you?" Wu smirked, reaching for his own weapon. "Oh no, brother. I do believe it's my turn to step into the battlefield."

* * *

"It's Garmadon's kid."

The green eyed man threw Kai back, his eyes frowning with confusion. Misako stepped forward, placing her hand upon Lloyd's shoulder, red nails digging into his flesh."He is _my_ son."

"He doesn't look like he needs much rescuing," Cole muttered through gritted teeth, standing over Jay's unconscious body. "He seems to be getting along just fine with his mother."

Kai searched the young man's eyes. Mostly, Ironfist's eyes were stoic, empty, but there was a flash of something else. As if the young child they'd been ordered to rescue was still trapped inside. "No. . . Something isn't right."

"That's true, Kai." Misako turned towards her son, cocking her head sideways. "Lloyd, dear, can you tell me what's wrong with this picture?"

 _Lloyd._ Kai repeated this in his mind, committing the name to memory.

The young man shook his head, keeping his eyes low on the ground.

"They're still alive." Misako hissed. "Do you not remember what I ordered you?"

"I. . . No. I can't. Not. . . That" Lloyd's hands were balled up into tight fists now, shuddering every few seconds.

The woman shook her head. "I'm not surprised. You're weak, Lloyd. But luckily for me... I do have other more _useful_ guards."

As soon as the words left her mouth, a loud _clang_ reverberated around the room. Kai turned on his heels, just in time to see Zane's body hit the ground. Behind him stood Karloff, his skin pale and slightly singed, but very much alive. And very, very angry.

Kai turned again, opening his mouth in order to insult the gray haired woman before him. No words emerged. Instead, Kai broke into a fit of violent coughs. A faint green gas floated in the air around him and his team, slowly crawling towards the mechanic's lungs.

Cole's body grew limp, slumping down beside Jay's. Kai tried to blink the growing tears out of his eyes, but it only managed to make his vision worse. He began to lose control over his body, feeling it crumble upon the cold metal floor. Black dots forcefully took over his vision, leaving Kai spinning down into neverending darkness.


	20. Swaying in Temptation

**Again, credit needs to be given when credit's due. I'm failing as a writer right now so this was all TombRaiderNinja again.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty: Swaying in Temptation

When Jay regained consciousness there was nothing but darkness. There was a powerful ache throbbing in the back of his head, making his eyes pulse in a painful rhythm. He was strapped onto a chair, his ankles and wrists bound tight. He squirmed left and right, but to no avail. He was trapped.

Jay could hear breathing around him, and he knew he wasn't alone. Clearing his throat, he dared speak up. "Guys?"

"Jay?" Cole's response was almost instant, coming from his right. His voice was weak and shaky, almost as if every syllable was a challenge to utter. "You're okay?"

"I think so. I mean, I'm alive." The blue eyed man wiggled again, but was no more successful than before. "You?"

"Fighting to keep awake, but still breathing." Cole chuckled, a sound that was filled with more pain than amusement. "Where are we?"

"Some sort of room. Not too big by the sounds of it. If my map is correct, we are very near the exit of Misako's hideout. It is quite inconvenient that we are unable to move."

Jay jolted at the sound of Zane's voice, louder and closer than he could have expected. "Jeezums, Zane, how about a little warning next time?"

"I was merely answering Cole's question." Zane said back. A shuffling sound echoed from beside the robot, followed by a soft moan.

"Ughh. . ." Kai groaned, blinking, trying to adjust his eyes to the deep darkness. "What just happened?"

"Well someone's late to the party." Cole yawned. "My guess is. . . we failed. And now. . . Now we're under her power."

White lights flashed on, blinding the four recruits. Jay flinched, quickly shutting his eyes. Slowly, each of them regained their sight, eyes running through their surroundings. There wasn't much to see. They were in a small room, walls painted a dull gray. Each of them was strapped to a metal chair, bonds of steel tightened around them, making it impossible to break through. Above them, was a small crystal room, where Misako and Lloyd stood.

Misako smiled down at her captives, waving her slender hand in their direction. "Glad to see you're awake. I've been waiting for this moment. I couldn't very well kill you while you slept, could I? It would take away all the fun."

Kai narrowed his eyes, watching Garmadon's son. The young boy's eyes were glued to the floor, and he seemed more than uncomfortable. There was a strong sense of guilt fluttering around him. The mechanic ran possible escape methods through his mind, jotting down the boy as a possible ally. After all, the kid _was_ the reason they were here.

"As you can see, there are small vents spread all around the room you're in." Misako stepped closer to the edge of the room, enjoying every bit of fear that was etched upon the face of her enemies. "You know the virus Pythor was so intent on getting his hands on? I've done what I needed to do with it. I _did_ have a bit of it left over. Just enough to use on you four. I'm sure Wu filled you in on its after effects?"

Jay gulped, his mind playing the conversation back onto his mind.

 _Once the virus sets in your body, you'll have more or less an hour to live._ Neuro had said. _Everything in your body will begin to shut down until,_ pop, _your heart gives out_.

"She's bluffing, right?" The blue-eyed man whimpered, looking over at his companions. "She-she wouldn't kill us. I mean, not all of us. Right? She kept Cole alive. She, there's got to be something she _needs_ us for."

"She doesn't look like she's bluffing Jay," Cole said. "I think this is it. The end of the line."

"For whatever it is worth, it was an honor to fight beside you all." Zane smiled, keeping his eyes cast down towards the ground.

"Me too," Cole agreed.

Jay sighed, trying to sound braver than he felt. Then he looked up, nodding his head. "Yeah, ditto."

"Garmadon," Kai gasped softly, his eyes widening slightly.

* * *

Misako couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't hear the voices of her captors, but she could see their skin pale as they realized what fate would soon befall them. Soon, they would be squirming with pain, cursing the day they'd decided to listen to the words of her stupid ex-husband. And then, maybe Garmadon would learn that she was unstoppable.

No one was taking Lloyd away from her. He was _her_ creation. Her little super soldier. With him by her side, she'd be able to wipe N.I.N.J.A.G.O from the map without much of a struggle.

That is, if she managed to teach the boy how to kill first.

"Lloyd," Misako's son twitched at the sound of his name, looking away from the prisoners and into his mother's eyes. "This should be relatively easy for you. You see that black button over there?"

Lloyd turned to look, his stomach squirming with nerves. Against the wall, was a small black button, sitting just above a red one of the same shape and size. Nodding with a bit of reluctance, he turned back towards Misako.

"Once you press it, the virus will be released, getting rid of the little pests below us."

Lloyd nodded, knowing what his mother's next words would be. But still, he feigned ignorance. He didn't want to have a hand in anyone's death. At first, training under his mother had been somewhat fun. She'd held the promise of seeing his dad again above him, using it to urge him forward.

But then she'd showed up one day, syringe in one hand and a strange substance in the other. That was when everything had change.

Shuddering the memories away, Lloyd focused his mind back on reality. His mother was smiling at him expectantly. Had she already ordered him to press the button?

"Go ahead, son. Press it." Misako spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing dangerously. "You don't want to make me upset again. . . do you?"

A tremor passed through Lloyd's body. No, he didn't want to face his mother's wrath. But he didn't want to be a murderer. If he pressed that button. . . there would be no turning back. Any shred of innocence that had survived in him would be gone forever.

"I. . ." Lloyd cleared his throat. His mother was older. More experienced. And the fact that she was a parental figure made her authority all the more pressing. But he was stronger than she was, and she must know it. There was a reason why she worked so hard to keep him under her thumb. "No."

Misako laughed softly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. . . What was that?"

"No, I. . . I can't do this. I won't kill for you. That's. . . I just want to go home." Lloyd looked down, forcing back the tears that were beginning to swell up inside his emerald green eyes.

"You will _not_ disobey me!" Misako raised her hand, shooting a slap across Lloyd's face. With wide eyes, the boy stumbled back a step, shock and pain causing a high pitched ringing in his ears. "Press the button, _now_."

* * *

"Garmadon?" Jay raised an eyebrow, looking over at the mechanic. Kai's eyes were wide, and a goofy relieved smiled tugged at the edge of his lips. "Um. . . Kai?"

"He's here."

"Does the virus make you hallucinate? I think Kai's losing it over here." Jay shook his head. "Garmadon's not here. Or Wu. We're done for."

Cole followed Kai's gaze, squinting his eyes. A pair of eyes stared back at him from the air vent in the room above. The rock climber laughed. "Kai's right. Garmadon's here. We're _not_ gonna die!"

"There is still a large possibility that Misako will-"

"Please don't kill my hope, Zane," Kai said. "I'm trying to stay positive here."

" _Where?_ I can't see anything." Jay whined, trying to focus on the spot where his teammates' eyes were sitting. "Is this a joke? I can't-"

In a matter of seconds, the cover from the air duct flew forward, slamming against the glass walls of the room. A small crack began to grow.

And Garmadon landed in front of Misako, his hands gripping his handgun tightly.

"Oh," Jay said. "There he is."

* * *

"Step away from my son," Garmadon growled, jumping in front of Lloyd, anger burning in his eyes.

Wu followed his brother out of the air duct, landing beside him, his hands resting against his hips. Garmadon himself pointed his gun at Misako.

"You wouldn't shoot me," Misako smiled, cocking her head sideways.

"I've done it before. And now you don't have your little bodyguard to protect you."

Lloyd shook his head, watching the scene develop before him as he slowly tried to grasp it. His father was here. He was _here_. "Dad . . ."

"Stay away from her, Lloyd," Garmadon replied. "I'm never losing you again."

The boy smiled.

"Wu, the handcuffs, please. We wouldn't want her to get away before the back-up gets here." Nodding slowly, Wu stepped forward, snapping one of the handcuffs around Misako's wrist, and the other upon the door's handle. Misako watched him with interest, the gears within her mind beginning to turn.

"It appears I can't do anything now, can I?" Misako laughed. "You've won I suppose. You can have your little recruits back. They won't last long anyway. That little black button should set them free. . ."

Garmadon scowled. "As if I'd trust you."

The man pressed his hand against his earpiece, starting a connection back to the headquarters. "Neuro. . . You seeing this?"

 _Seeing and hearing. The black button will definitely release the virus. Give me a second, I'll have you all out of there in no time._

"Thank you."

Slowly, Garmadon lowered the gun, then turned around to face his son. Tears made his eyes shine briefly, but he shook them away. "What did she do to you?"

Lloyd shrugged, keeping his eyes low. "You. . . You came to get me."

"Well of course I came, Lloyd! Every second, every minute I knew you were with . . . with _her,_ I just. . . All the possibilities. . ." Garmadon shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. I'm here now."

 _Bingo. You should all be good to go._

Garmadon looked down at the others, watching as the metal cuffs holding them down snapped open. Seconds later, the metallic door keeping them from freedom swung open. Although he couldn't hear them, he could imagine the recruits cheering, watching their eyes light up at the prospect of everything being over.

"Now it's our turn to get out." With one swift motion, Garmadon placed a strong kick upon the cracked glass. It rained down on the room below, creating a path for them to retreat. "After you, Lloyd. I'm not letting you out of my sight again."

Still smiling, Lloyd nodded, easily jumping down onto the floor below. Garmadon followed.

His landing, however, was not quite as smooth as his son's. His left ankle shuddered beneath his weight, twisting into a painful position. Garmadon bit his lip, hissing under his breath.

"Dad!" Lloyd gasped, running back to help his father stand. "Are. . . are you okay?"

"I'm . . . fine." Garmadon forced a chuckle. "Just getting old is all."

As Garmadon began to limp forward with the help of his son, Wu watched them from above, getting ready to join his brother. Misako cleared her throat from behind him, making the man freeze. Although Wu willed himself to move forward, his head turn back to face the handcuffed woman.

"You. . . you wouldn't leave me like this, would you, Wu?"

Wu shook his head. "Misako . . . You've hurt far too many people. This is the only way."

"Oh. . . But I don't think it is. I think. . . I think you and I could change this story. I think. . . between the two of us. . . we could do anything." A sly smile curved Misako's red lips up. "All you have to do, is press the red button. It won't kill your brother. It'll simply shut the door, preventing them from escaping. I won't lose my son again, Wu. Do you understand how painful it is, to live without little Lloyd by my side?"

Wu looked down at the room below him. His recruits had escaped, but his brother and nephew were still struggling to reach the exit. He turned back towards Misako. "Lloyd is in good hands and you know it. You don't have to worry about your son."

"Garmadon? Oh you and I both know he is nothing but a fool. He's. . . he's nothing like you."

A shudder passed through Wu's body. For a second, he looked up at the red button. It was just within his arm's reach.

"I. . . I made a mistake, Wu. I should've seen it sooner. You loved me far more than he ever did." Misako's voice was soothing, filled with poisonous temptation. "You would've done anything for me. If I hadn't thrown you away. . . we would've ruled the world."

Wu's fingers twitched. His heart burned with longing. For years, he had to watch his brother be with the only woman he'd ever loved. For years he'd kept silent, knowing it wouldn't be right to ruin someone else's happiness. But the desire was there. Stronger than ever, pulsing closer to the surface with every one of Misako's words.

"Wu. . ." Misako sighed, her voice shaking with sadness. "I should've chosen you. You wouldn't have let me down."

Wu's hand tightened into a fist. Why, why did he always have to put others first? What if. . . for once, he chose the happiness he deserved for himself? He could have Misako. She was laying herself down before him, admitting to how she should've chosen Wu.

Misako could be his.

"The past. . . The past is in the past." Wu said, pressing the red button with a shaking hand. "But there is always the future. . ."


End file.
